A Murder At The University
by Where's Beckett
Summary: Number 6 in the series... Read them first. This keeps you up on how we arrived here. Richard Castle is asked to teach at a prestigious university. There is, of course, a murder. Kate and Rick have been now married for several years.
1. Chapter 1

**Another journey into the underbelly of crime**

 **Major reminder: I DO NOT write canon. In fact I try to stay away from it as much as possible**  
 **The players belong to whoever messed up the fine show Castle once was**

 **This makes number 7 in the series. Be sure to read them first so you will know how we got to this point in their relationship**

 **The system allows only two descriptions. This is Romance, Drama, Humor**

 **And remember I don't own these players. I just got to enjoy them for 7 seasons**

* * *

Richard Castle is sitting at his desk in the study looking directly across the top at his wife. She is sitting quietly in the chair across from him. Her hands are folded in her lap

"So. Is it true Kate?"

"Is what true?"

"What I've heard"

"What did you hear Castle?"

"Your heart has been stolen by another guy?"

"Where did you hear this?" she looks down to her lap

"I can see it whenever you look at him. It is all over your face"

Kate raises her head back up and she looks directly into her husband's eyes

"I cannot lie. Yes! It is true"

"I see" Castle responds never taking his eyes from Kate "So this is serious?"

"Yes. Very serious"

"How serious?" Rick questions

"I believe I will love him with all my heart for the rest of my life"

"Is there nothing I can do to replace this guy in your heart? "

"No" she answers "He has filled a spot that you will never reach"

Castle stands, walks around the desk and takes a hold of Kate's hand and pulls her up and back to his side of the desk. When they reach the other side of the desk he sits back down and pulls her into his lap and gives her a gentle yet passionate kiss

"Are you sure about that? That there are places I will never reach?"

Kate moans into his mouth "Well you know you can keep on trying" she returns his kiss and wraps her arms around his neck "and don't ever stop trying" she is pulling him in as tight as possible

They are both enjoying the impromptu make out session and it is getting more heated by the moment. They both know they need to stop because they will soon have company, but neither one really wants to quit

Just as the hot kissing session almost becomes unstoppable they hear the front door open and close and the voice Alexis Castle can be heard calling out very loudly "We're home. I hope you two are decent"

Beckett drops her head on Castle's shoulder with a little chuckle, then straightens back up and turns to face the door "We're in here and yes, we are decent" she leans in and whispers into Rick's ear "Barely"

He sighs when she uses her most sexy voice on him

At this moment a little boy's voice can be heard "Mommy, Daddy" and a rambunctious three year old comes around the corner and tries to get in between his mother and father "What ya doin?"

Kate pulls little Jimmy up between them "We were just sitting here kissing each other" Castle answers

"EWWWW! That is gross" The tiny version of Rick Castle says while looking at his mother. He then puckers his lips and gives Kate a sloppy kiss

"Talk about gross" Rick comments

"No Daddy. My kisses for mommy are not gross. Only when daddy kisses her is it gross

The three are wrapped around each other as Alexis walks into the room "Oh wow. Talk about gross"

Castle looks at his daughter "What?"

"It looks like if we were any later Jimmy and I would have seen something that was VERY gross"

Jimmy drops back down to the floor and runs out of the room with his big sister close behind

Kate stands up from Rick's lap and takes a couple of steps away

Castle is looking toward the doorway where their son just passed "He is hard to resist, isn't he?"

Kate walks back to her husband and stands behind him and then leans into his ear. "He has that big piece of my heart, but the rest of it and all the other parts I have are all for you alone"

He looks back up at Kate "I would like to check out those other parts…" He looks toward the opening "later after Jimmy is asleep"

She kisses his neck and ear "Looking forward to that"

As the goose bumps crawl up his neck "You better stop that or we will not make it for him to go to bed"

Beckett straightens back up "We need to go fix supper for those two" then more softly" then we can share some dessert… a little later"

Castle is standing and stumbling behind Kate "I see what you're trying to do. You are trying to push my buttons. Well it won't work"

Turning to presses herself back into him "It seems to be working just fine"

As she proceeds out the study door, she hears him whisper "Never boring"

These two are so in sync after almost five years of marriage they work in the kitchen like a well-oiled machine. One grabs the utensils and cookware from the cabinets, the other is taking the meat and other ingredients out of the refrigerator.

"So, Mr. Castle what are we doing today?"

"I have an idea for a pork chop casserole"

"Sounds interesting. What's in it?"

"We start with four nice sized pork chops, boil in bag rice and a large can of tomato sauce with herbs. We put the rice on the bottom, add the chops, then cover the entire dish with the sauce. Cover it with foil and bake at 350. It will take an hour to cook then take the foil off and brown the top for fifteen minutes"

"Sound good. I don't remember you ever doing this before"

"I don't just write, I do read you know? I found this in a down home cookbook"

She helps him get out the ingredients in the dish and they put it all in the oven.

"What else are we fixing?" Kate asks

"Green salad with homemade dressing and a side of corn"

"You know I married you for your cooking skills Right?" Kate smirks

""I know. That is why I have to try new things. If I don't that other guy might take you away from me"

Kate wraps her arms around her husband "A three year old and a hot stove is not a good idea, so I guess I will just have to keep living here and let you feed me"

"Sounds like a plan" Castle responds as he starts pulling Kate toward the study

"Castle. What are you doing?"

"Killing a little time before dinner is ready"

She pulls back on him "Everyone is home and although Lexi knows exactly what you and I do in the bedroom, But Jimmy does not need any early sex education"

Castle stops pulling "Right! We will just have to wait"

"Plan on it mister"

The evening meal is new and very good. Alexis also comments asking where they found the recipe. After a little more discussion on future menus Kate looks to her son

"So what did you think of the museum, little man?"

"IT was great. Sissy showed me all the places daddy and her went when she was a little girl and before he knew you, mommy. She said he met a lot of mommies there and that…"

"OK I get it" Castle responds to cut off what might be an embarrassing situation "What did you and sissy see there?" Rick looks at Kate with apology written all over his face

She smiles at him then whispers in his ear "I remember you telling me all about the women at the museum. So nothing new here"

"sorry" he mouths silently

Kate leans over to his ear "I will expect a proper apology later"

GULP

She looks back to her son what else did Lexi show you?"

"There were disoners. Big disoners"

"Dinosaurs" Alexis comments

"What kind of dinosaurs?" Kate asks him

"Trnsorus…tranosoros…trainson…?" He looks at sis sister

"Tyrannosaurus Rex"

"Yeah…what sissy said"

"That's cool Castle tells his son

Jimmy holds his arm to his chest leaving his hands out "but they had no arms. Just hands sticking out like this. How did they hold a fork and eat?"

Alexis decides to take this answer "I am sure they figured out a way to eat" She looks at Kate and Rick with a look telling them that this conversation was going to be over

Jimmy looks at his parents and asks to be excused. He wants to go upstairs to his room and play

Leaving the older three Castles at the table, Kate looks at Alexis "So anything happening of interest at school?"

"OH! Yes, I almost forgot something" She walks to her bag on the table. She takes out an envelop and hands it to her dad "My English professor asked me to give this to you"

Kate has a questioning look on her face "Professor Tomlinson? What did she want?"

"She said it was from the dean over at Ballard University and it is for dad

Castle is opening the envelop and commenting "That is the most exclusive university in New England. You can't get in there without a 5.0 High School GPA and a LOT of money"

He takes the letter inside and begins reading it. Only a few lines in and he gets a look on his face of total disbelief

"What is it Castle?" Kate asks

"They want me to teach a 12 week course in creative writing starting next week"

"WOW dad. That is impressive"

"It is singed by the President of the school Dr. Margaret Sellers"

"That is very nice "Kate comments "Someone else sees my husband's talents"

Castle's face changes again as he turns the page for Kate to see "And the honorarium is nice too"

When Beckett sees the financial offer her mouth drops open "Very Nice! I wonder what you have to do to earn that?"

"Just teach..."

"I hope"

* * *

 **As you can see I plan for more fun for these two**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am so glad so many are enjoying this series. I am enjoying writing these tales**

* * *

Richard Castle has just finished cooking breakfast for his crew. This morning he has prepared oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon for his toddler. Pancakes for his red headed college daughter and a plate of fruit for his beautiful wife and an omelet for himself.

He hears his daughter coming down the stairs. It is a sound that is hard to miss since Jimmy is close on her heels calling out for his big sister to wait up for him.

As the two reach the bottom of the stairs Jimmy is running to try and catch up with Alexis "Wait sissy. Wait for me. You can run faster than me. Your legs go longer than mine do"

"Well it won't be long before you can run faster too" Alexis responds

"Daddy. Tell sissy to slow down" Jimmy runs to the table where all their meals are set "She gets places before I do"

"I think you both need to slow down "Castle responds "but Lexi is taller and older. When you get taller and older, I bet you will keep up with her"

"I want to do that now" he climbs into his booster chair and takes his spoon and takes a bite of his oatmeal "Yummy, daddy. This is deshilous"

"I am glad you like it little man" Rick laughs to himself every time his son tries to say some big word. The boy loves to try to keep up with mommy and daddy, but right now it is futile

Castle sets down the plate of pancakes for his daughter, then turns to get his plate and Kate's from the serving bar. Just as he sets them on the table is wife exits the bedroom door

"Hey gorgeous"

Kate smiles as she walks up behind her two kids. She leans down and kisses Jimmy on the head and places a kiss to Alexis' cheek. As She moves around the table to her husband he feels the pride of having this woman in his life. Kate loves his daughter as if she were her own and together they created little Jimmy

When she reaches her husband, she wraps her arms around his neck and gives him a long slow kiss "Good morning handsome"

"EWWW!" Jimmy says again looking at his parents "Stop kissing!"

"Like I told you, I can kiss your mother all I want" Castle tells his son

Kate leans into Rick's ear "As long as you don't tell him what else you do to me that room over there" looking at the bedroom door

"I do to you? I think that is a two way street, lady"

Kate lets out a soft hum

Alexis looks up from her chair "Can you two just contain yourselves? You act like you just got married and are on your honeymoon"

Kate whispers into his ear again "I do feel like we just got married"

Castle pulls back looking at Kate thinking 'Did this really happen? Did I marry a woman who is smart, beautiful, extremely intelligent…and super sexy and romantic?'

Kate sees the look in his eyes that he is thinking about them "What?"

"I love you Kate"

"Back at ya" she kisses him again quickly and sits down for breakfast

"So Kate, how is it going at the station? I mean how are you liking being a captain and all that?" Alexis asks

"It IS different. I mean, not only am I a captain but they created a special crime command that I get to oversee"

"Yeah and she got to pick her own lead team" Castel interjects

"I bet Captain Gates was not happy that you took her two best detectives to be part of your group, Ryan and Esposito"

"She understood. I mean, after all, we had worked as a team for years, and we have been good at what we did. She said she understood why I picked them"

Alexis continues "So what type cases are you handling?"

"When the commissioner decides he wants us or we can pick any case as long as it is the area of the weird ones"

Castle interjects "That is what your mother likes. The weird ones"

Kate looks at her husband "Is that why I married you. I like the weird ones?"

That earns her a smirk from her guy

"So Castle are you going into the university today? When do you get started?"

"I have to go do some paperwork, get my photo Id, get assigned an office and classroom. See the schedule…that kind of stuff"

"You get your own office? You must really be special" Kate comments

"Thank you" Castle responds "I don't start teaching until next Monday. My class is from 10:00 to 11:30 Monday and Wednesday"

"So dad…you are a college…oh excuse me. A UNIVERSITY Professor now"

"It would seem so…at least for the next twelve weeks anyway. Wait! Who knows? I might get asked to come back and do another class…then continue teaching long term…then I become tenured…"

"Don't hold your breath big guy" Kate comments "You are only there for one twelve week class. I doubt that they will be a lot more. I am sure creative writing is not in high demand at that particular university"

"Yeah Dad. I have seen a lot of quest professors come and go. They are usually not asked in for the long haul. Just for a special class or two"

"You both are spoiled sports. You know that?"

By this time everyone has finished eating and Castle begins putting away the dishes Kate's phone chirps. She looks at the screen "Talk about a weird one…"

Castle rushes back beside his wife "What is it?" he asks like a pre-teen kid wanting to see something gross

"A murder?" she has a question in her voice "A really weird murder and the team is getting this one"

"WHAT? WHAT?" Castle is trying to look over Kate's shoulder to see the screen

She looks aback at her husband "I am not describing this in front of the children"

Castle whispers to Kate "Then tell me in private" and he pulls Kate away from the table

She is reading her phone "A woman was found in the pressure cooker over at 'Southern Fried Favorites'"

"That is the chicken place that serves the Cajun fried chicken"

"That is the one"

"Oh man! I wanted to try that place, but now I am not so sure"

"Why castle?"

"I'm afraid that if I ordered a leg what I might get"

Beckett slaps Castle on the arm "That is why I didn't want to say anything in front of the children"

"OK. Good point. Can I come along?"

"I have a case…you have paperwork" She puckers her lips and sucking in air "OOOh"

"But I want to go"

"You said you had to go to the school. So go do that and text me when you are finished and I might let you join us"

"OK" He replies dejectedly

Kate goes back to the table and leans in and gives her son a kiss "Love you"

"Love you mommy"

Kate then gives Alexis a kiss on her head "love you too, Lex"

"Have a good day, mom"

Beckett stops cold and looks back at Alexis then up to Castle. He just raises his eyebrows and smiles at the name that Alexis just used on Kate

Beckett gets her bag and heads out the door

Alexis stands up from the table "today you go to school, little brother" looking at Jimmy

"Sissy, will you take me?"

"You know I will. Get your stuff"

The younger Castle rushes up the stairs to get his bag

"Lexie, you gave Beckett quite a shock calling her mom"

"Dad. You know as well as I do that she has been the closest thing to a mother that I have had since she came into our lives"

"I know, but to call her by that name just made her day"

Alexis looks at the door "I know"

A three year old is rushing back down the stairs "Ready sissy…let's go" he runs to the door

"I just hope I can keep up with him" the two siblings are gone in a flash leaving Castle alone. He looks around the loft and smiles

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The halls of a university just cry out over the reason they exist.

Learning

Castle is impressed by the grandeur yet simplicity of the corridors between the street and the administration wing. He steps into the main reception area where he is greeted by a young man. Probably a student working to earn a few dollars

"May I help you sir?"

"Yes. I am Richard Castle and I have an appointment with Dr. Sellers"

"Yes, Mr. Castle. Please have a seat and I will get Dr. Seller's assistant to come help you"

Castle steps over to a row of comfortable chairs and waits. But his wait is very short as another young lady comes over to him. She seems a student herself

"Mr. Castle, I am Misty. I am Dr. Sellers' assistant. Please follow me, the doctor is expecting you" Castle follows the young woman down a corridor that ends in a set of large double doors that lead into a spacious office with a large executive desk near the outside windows. The walls are covered with bookcases and filled with books

An attractive tall well-proportioned woman steps to the door to greet Castle. She is wearing a business appropriate three piece outfit. A jacket over her blouse and her skirt is a little short being about 6 inches above the knee, but Castle knows that in some places it is not uncommon for such attire to be accepted

Mr. Castle" she holds out her hand to shake then turns to her assistant "Thank you Misty. You can take your break now"

She then turns to Castle "It's Rick. Right? May I call you Rick?"

"Yes of course Dr. Sellers" as he shakes her offered hand

"The name is Margaret but you call me Marge. My friends all call me Marge"

"OK Dr.,,,Marge"

She points toward a couch located in front of some of the bookcases leaving a corridor "Please have a seat"

"Thank you" Castle sits on the divan. He is followed a minute later by her but, only after she has taken off her jacket and hangs it on the back of her chair.

It is now evident why she is wearing a jacket. Her blouse is sheer. In fact almost totally see thru. He can even tell the color and style of her bra

She sits down at the other end of the couch

She crosses her legs and turns to face him making it very easy for him to see a lot more than just her bra

She makes a comment "You need to know that I am a giant fan of your work. I have all of the Derrick Storm and the Nikki

heat books"

"Thanks" he responds

"I am so glad you have accepted our offer to joins us and I hope your time here will be enjoyable for both of us"


	3. Chapter 3

The chirp from Castle's cell phone gives him an opportunity to get out of the current uncomfortable situation and in a direction where he feels more at ease.

Castle looks at the screen and sees the image of his beautiful wife. She has sent him a message. He looks at the woman on the other end of the couch "Excuse me but I have to take this"

"Of course" Marge responds as she watches Castle stand and steps cross the room where he hits the dial button calling her back. She answers on the first ring "Hey love" he speaks softly to his wife"

He listens for a minute then comments "Let me finish doing the paperwork here and I will be there as fast as I can…OK... Bye" he punches the end button.

When he turns back around, he collides with the woman who is now standing almost against his back. The collision was not an accident. She had positioned herself so that when he turned around he would come into contact with the portion of her body closest to him at that moment.

In difference to his former life, this was embarrassing to him

She leans and presses herself into Castle "Something important?" she asks causing him obvious discomfort

"Oh, I am so, so sorry. I didn't meant to…you know…"

"Oh Rick. That is perfectly alright. Accidents do happen you know?"

"Yes. But I need to go finish checking in with the human resources department and head out to assist the police on a case. They have asked me to come to a crime scene"

He tries to step away from her contact only to have her crowd him once more "Are you positive you need to leave so soon? You just got here"

He moves back again "Yes. Positive. When a crime occurs the first few hours are the most important, so I need to get there quickly"

"Too bad Marge comments, but we will have more time later to pick up on this"

"Right?" Castle responds "Which way to the HR department?" as he is approaching the door

In a voice filled with obvious hurt "Down the hall to your left then the next right. That brings you into the HR department"

"Thank you Dr. Sellers and I am sure I will see you again"

As Castle passes the reception desk, he hears her respond "You can count on it"

Richard Castle is almost running to get out of the clutches of the University President. Right now he simply needs to get finished with human resources, get his ID badge, room and office assignment, leave the building, and to find his wife.

It takes about thirty minutes to finish the paperwork and get out of the building and out on the street where he hails a cab

Beckett asked him if he needed the address of the Chicken store, but Castle told her that he really wanted to try it and had already put it on his to do list

It takes the cab about twenty minutes to arrive and let him out. When he approaches the crime scene tape a uniformed officer stops him. This crime is in a different precinct than the 12th and the uniformed officer do not know him on site

"Excuse me sir. This is a crime scene and you cannot enter"

"I am Richard Castle and my wife is Captain Beckett. Her team is inside"

The uniformed officer looks at Castle and recognizes him from the cover of one of the Nikki Heat books

"You are the husband of Captain Beckett?"

"That's me" Rick responds

As the uniform lifts the crime scene tape Castle hears him say "Lucky dog"

He smiles at the comment made. He is lucky and he knows it

Once he enters the building he sees the usual group of Crime Scene Investigators. The Medical Examiner's office personnel. This time being led by Dr. Lanie Parish they are surrounding the gurney with a body bag and something dripping down on the floor

She looks up from her clipboard "Hey writer boy. Come to help your wife with her team's first case?"

He is looking around the front guest area "I hope so, Lanie" he points at the pool on the floor "Lanie, your vic is still bleeding"

Lanie look down "Just a little cooking grease. I will get CSU to get it"

Castle chuckles "Where is she?" referring to his wife

"She is back in the kitchen with the guys"

Castle turns toward the back "And this is one that is right up your alley" Lanie finishes

Richard Castle steps around the ME team and into the back kitchen area where he finds Ryan,

Esposito, and Kate, along with a couple of uniforms, looking into a large cooking vessel with a lid and locking clamps. There are all types of valves and gauges above the hardened metal container.

Beckett looks up from her notes when she notices someone enter the space. She speaks softly as to not bring attention to the relationship between her and her husband. They have tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep it down and no PDA

"Hey babe" is softly spoken

"Hi guys" he speaks but his smile is directed to one person ion the room only "What do you have?"

Ryan answers "Our victim was found inside this pressure vessel"

"Well, well. This looks like a fine kettle of fish"

This comment brings four pairs of eyes turning his was

"Not funny Rick" Beckett comments

"Sorry" he steps away from the immediate area and begins looking around the kitchen

"Lanie said that even though she head was submerged under the cooking oil, she was not breathing. Probably dead before she was put inside. She had a gash on the side of her head. Lanie believe that was the cause of death"

"Was the cooker full of oil?" Castle asks

Esposito answers the question "They have to replace the cooking oil in the vats every so often with fresh. The manager said that they have to shut down the heat the night before, and then someone comes in early to drain the old oil out since the unit has cooled down. Then they refill it with fresh. Our victim was the one scheduled to do that" He looks at his notes "Her name was Blaire Collins, twenty-two. She lived in the neighborhood and was the assist manager of the shop"

Ryan points to the floor "And judging from the empty containers on the floor" he points out several jugs of cooking oil on the floor. Some empty and some still full "Our vic was half way in the process of doing that"

Esposito continues "That one there" he points at one bottle on its side "has blood on it."

Kate finishes "CSU is checking but we believe it is the murder weapon. They will have the lab results back to us later today"

Rick looks at Kate "I thought it always took a couple of weeks for them to give you results and I promised not to use my connections with the mayor to expedite returns"

Kate walks around her husband "I have connections now. My team's cases now take top priority"

"Nice" Rick responds

Kate continues "Lanie is taking the body to the morgue to do a full post mortem. We might as well go back to the station and start working this case

In the cruiser Kate starts asking Rick about the school

"So Castle. How is the university? Is it everything you expected?"

Feeling a little uncomfortable about answering with everything that happened today "It is a definitely center of higher education"

"Did you see anything that peaked your interest particularly?"

Thinking about how much of herself the school president put out there "No not really. I met the head of the school, got my paperwork done…"

"Boring paperwork?" Kate smiles across the car

"Yes, dear. Boring paperwork. But is hurried through it so I could get back to you"

Kate smiles as her husband's hand crossed the center of the seat and reached for her

After a few moments of silence Kate asks "Do you need to go pick up Jimmy from school?"

"No. Alexis is out early today and she wanted to pick him up and take him to the park"

Kate smiles "Your daughter really loves that guy"

OUR daughter. Remember…she considers you her mom now"

"Yeah"

Castle finishes "And don't forget, you are the one who said he stole your heart and I believe he got a big piece of Lexi's as well"

Kate squeezes his fingers and smiles

* * *

 **Oh My! Where is this going?"**  
 **I thought this was called a Murder At The University, Not at the Chicken place**


	4. Chapter 4

Once at the station the team begins setting up a murder board. Except now it needs to be called a crime board since the team can now be used for not just murders but other major crimes as well.

But this time it is still a murder board.

As Beckett begins writing information on the white background, Ryan steps up "We have a little more information on our victim. She is Blaire Collins. She has worked at the shop for a little over two years. Her family is in Connecticut. They have been notified by the local PD. She was scheduled to go in about 7:00 to drain the old oil and refill the container"

"It appears she was refilling the vat when she was killed" Beckett comments

Ryan continue "Yes. The drained oil was in the recovery container that it is placed in for recovery. The used oil is sent off to make biodiesel. There also were several empty containers of fresh oil so she had begun to refill the cooker"

"Were there any cameras in the store?" Castle asks

"Yes, but they are only on during the open business hours. The recorders are off at night" Ryan replies

Beckett asks the obvious ""Do we know if she had any relationship problems? Ex boyfriends or current problems"

Esposito enters the room "According to the manager she was seeing someone but she had kept it on the down low. She acted very happy about it. He did say she came in most days with a smile on her face and when she was asked, she would just say he was the best thing that ever happened to her"

Castle comments "It would appear her love life might not be the issue, unless they had a spat and he killed her"

They are all standing at the board when Beckett's cell phone rings "Beckett" she listens "Got it Lanie. We will be there in a few minutes"

She looks at her husband. "Lanie has something for us…let's go" Beckett turns to the guys "Keep digging. Try to find out who would want our victim killed. Rick and I will go the morgue "

The couple are back in the car and on the street heading to the morgue to see the Medical Examiner when Beckett decides to ask her husband a question that has been burning inside her ever since he came into the crime scene

"Castle, when I texted you and asked if you would be finished in time for us to have lunch and we could meet somewhere, you called me back like you were in a panic talking about coming to the crime scene"

He just looks out the window causing her to know that something is bothering him

"Rick. What is it?"

"Just…I am glad you texted me when you did. It gave me a chance to get out of a very uncomfortable situation"

"What was uncomfortable in doing paperwork?"

"Uh…there was more than just paperwork…I was in the president's office when you texted me"

"OK. What is so uncomfortable about that?"

"Well…she…she said she was a big fan of my work was being a little forward and I…I needed"

"You needed What Castle!"

"I needed rescuing and by the best officer in the NYPD"

Beckett feels herself becoming flushed just not by being embarrassed. But feeling her temperature rising a little with the reemergence of the green eyed monster and wanting to know more about what took place

"What happened Castle?" She finally gets the question out

"She was being a bit flirty…no actually a lot flirty. She was wearing very revealing clothes. Sitting on the couch showing a lot of her legs. Then when I called you back, she was standing as close as she could and acting in a way that is considered improper"

"So you weren't attracted to her?"

"NO! Not at all"

Kate lets out a sigh that she didn't know she had inside "Are you sure?"

He reaches across the console and takes Beckett's hand "Kate. There is nothing on this planet that would make me jeopardize what I have with you. Nothing!"

She feels a little comfort from his comment but...

They pull into the parking lot of the medical examiners' office and head inside

"Hey Lanie, What do you have?"

"Hey guys" she responds "It is like I thought. Her COD was blunt force trauma to the head. Based on CSU tests I believe the weapon was a full bottle of cooking oil found at the scene with her blood on it"

"Were they able to get prints off the bottle?" Castle asks

"No. The outside of the bottle was covered in cooking oil and obliterated any prints that might have been left there by the killer"

Beckett continues to ask "Since we found her inside the vat, I assume the killer was probably male and capable of putting her inside?"

"Actually I found bruising across her belly that matches the height of the rim of the cooker. I believe the killer hit her from behind as she was facing the vat. She probably fell forward into the container. The killer simply lifted her legs and dumped her inside"

"So our murderer could be a woman?" Castle asks

"It looks that way"

Beckett follows "Anything else?"

"That's all for now. If I get anything else I will let you know"

"Thanks Lanie"

Castle and Beckett leave the morgue and head home

When they arrive at the loft they are overtaken by the wonderful aroma of the pot roast that Castle had put into the crock pot that morning before leaving to go to the university

"Oh Castle. That roast smells divine. I can't wait to dig into it"

"Well Kate when Alexis and Jimmy get home we can eat"

"I am going to grab a quick shower then" She heads into the bedroom while she begins to get undressed

"Castle goes into the kitchen and checks on dinner and sees that in fact it is ready. He goes to the cabinet and brings out plates and silverware and sets the table. He goes back into the living room just as the door opens and their two children come inside

"Hey dad" Alexis barely gets out before her brother is running to their father "Hi daddy" he jumps into Ricks' lap and gives his daddy a kiss and hug

"So kissing daddy is OK but daddy can't kiss mommy?"

"No. That's gross"

"OK" Castle rough houses with his son for a moment when Jimmy sits back up

"So what did you do today?"

"We learned about letters. A,B,D,E, C…"

"That is how daddy makes money writing stories and he has to use letters to do those stories"

"Stories for little boys and girls?"

That question catches Rick off guard. "No my stories are for big mommies and daddies"

"OH" he replies then follows "Sissy took me to the park to play on the swings"

"She is a good sister"

"Yeah. She told me that when she was little you took her to the park too"

"Yes. We went all the time when she was little like you"

"Daddy, Alexis said you were always meeting mommies at the park just like at the museum"

"She told you?" he has to catch his breath

"Hey little man, slow down. Lexi told you about the other mommies at the park?"

"Yeah! She said when it was warm outside you took her to the park and there a lot of mommies there but not very many daddy's and that you talked to a lot of the mommies"

That comment causes Castle to choke a little. He is now worried as to where this is going to go

Unbeknown to big Castle and little Castle, the mommy in question has emerged from the bedroom and is listening to this conversation

"But you picked my mommy out of all those other mommies. I like the mommy you picked for me so why did you pick my mommy over all the other mommies you met out there? I mean she is the best mommy"

Jimmy continues "She is the best mommy but I know you had other mommies to choose"

Castle decides this might not be so bad "Yes, little man. She is the best mommy. I picked her so that I could have you. And you will have all the best parts of her. She is smart…she is a great police officer. She catches the bad guys…"then Rick's heart takes over "she has pretty eyes, she is beautiful "Getting a grip on himself "and she loves her little boy"

"I love her too"

Kate walks up behind "And she loves her two men" She leans down to kiss Jimmy and Rick

Castle can do nothing but smile at what he has "Listen you two, dinner is ready" he looks at Jimmy "Go wash up and tell Lexi to come down to eat"

Jimmy hops down and runs up the stairs

Kate walks around the couch and sits down on Rick's lap, puts her arms around his neck "So I guess I was the pick of the litter?" she leans in to kiss him before he can even breathe

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Monday morning and they have very few leads on the case of the girl in the cooker. Morning is going slowly when Kate decides to go to the school and surprise her husband and convince him to take her to lunch, or maybe home for some afternoon delight

She enters the university and has to ask where Castle's room is located. She enters the lecture hall just as Castle is wrapping up the first session

Most of the students are leaving the room but a couple are hanging around. They must not have another class, so Kate waits at the top of the room.

This is when she sees it. One of the coeds seems to be flirting with Castle. In fact she is more than a little flirty with him. She is smiling and giggling and reaching out to touch him.

Her mind goes back to her days at Stanford and her coed crush on one of her professors and how badly that would have been

This is when Kate decides to hatch a little flirty plan of her own


	5. Chapter 5

Professor Richard Castle is standing at the front, lowest level, of the tiered lecture hall. His lecture is giving the students of this class a view of what he believes is the basics of good creative writing. The hall is built in levels from the lowest where the instructor stands to four levels each a foot or so higher than the one below finally topping out on the main upper level where the doors exit to the corridor outside. One on either side in the back of the lecture room. The lower level of the room has an exit door that leads to the facility hallway where the instructor's private offices are located. This way an instructor can exit out the classroom without going up then back down

In this type room, a female student that wants to distract a male instructor, she can easily accomplish that goal with very little effort needed by her. Just a very short skirt or shorts will do the trick

And each day it seems that one particular coed, Rita Sullivan, is trying more and more to achieve that goal.

Keeping his mind where it belongs is no problem for Richard Castle. He does this by simply reminding himself what he has at home is worth more than all the temptations in the world.

He begins another class

Today he tells the class that more than just a vivid imagination is required to be creative. The author must be able to make his story believable, otherwise the story is just fantasy, which to Castle is a totally separate area of writing

He is discussing, today, the realm of science fiction. He points out the stories of Arthur C. Clark and Isaac Asimov among others. Specifically discussing 'The Foundation Trilogy'. A three part series that revolves around the possibility that a genius mathematician could predict the future using mathematics. He draws a similar line to those books and the more recent television series "Numbers" where a math genius uses the science of mathematics to investigate crimes showing how the original story was believable enough to used again many years later

The class discussion continues to more progressive writers such a Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the Star Trek franchise. It is pointed out by Castle that Roddenberry was one of the first Si-fi writers to present the future in a positive light where most always wrote about a future filled with nuclear destruction or devastating wars leaving humanity in a state of chaos. Roddenberry presented a future of exploration and adventure with a unified Earth and a military tasked with keeping the peace

He points out to the class that even stories that, on the surface, seem more moderate such as Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles leaves the earth destroyed and Mars being resettled by the survivors of that apocalyptic event

He points out that even in science fiction a good story must be believable. He points out, again, using Star Trek the theory of time warp being the method of interstellar travel being accomplished by the use of a, then, theoretical material known as anti mater. More recently scientists have taken a closer look at space warp as a method to travel across the vast expanse in seconds rather than years

This same show used a laser based weapon that was in its infancy in 1965. The medical beds were non-invasive. Also based on cutting edge technology.

As the class is nearing the end of the session, the rear door from the corridor opens and a figure enters. He first thinks it must be Dr. Sellers since he can see the silhouette of a tall woman. When the door closes he can get a better look at the visitor.

It is his wife, Kate.

But…

She is not dressed for work. She is wearing the very light micro dress that she wore in an undercover operation just after they became a couple. Dark violet, very light, short sleeve dress mesh back with a skirt well above her knees and matching four inch heels. Using her long legs she steps over to one of the seats in the last row and sits down where no one can even see her. Except her husband.

She spends the next few minutes listening to the man she loves trying to finish the class but he seems distracted by every move she makes. As she crosses her legs he stutters in his lecture. When she turns from facing one side to the other she can swear she sees him start to sweat. She spends the next few minutes doing everything she knows to do to try and distract him and it appears to be working

After several minutes of torturing her husband she looks at the clock on the wall and with just two minutes before his class is to end she stands up, turns around, giving him a view of the part of herself that she remembers that gave him such problems on the steps she climbed the steps in the bomb shelter several years ago. She glances back across her shoulder and then struts thru the door to the hall outside.

Castle finishes up his summation of today's subjects, gives the class their assignments for next time and had grabbed his stuff and rushes up and out of hall in record time. The moment he exits the door he begins in earnest to find his wife, but she is nowhere to be seen.

In one way he is glad she is not in the corridor because he does not want to have to fight off half the male student body when they see her.

And what was she doing here? And dressed like that? She would not be here working on a case in that dress. And where did she go? Maybe she is on an undercover assignment and needed to tell him something. But why did she not wait for him?

He almost runs out of the door to the parking lot, but again, no Kate. Somewhat dishearten he goes back into the building and goes down to the lower level where the faculty offices are located. He has promised to grade the latest papers for next class time and this will be his only chance.

He enters the office door and closes it behind him without even looking back. He walks to his desk and drops his briefcase. This is when he hears a female voice come from behind him.

"Well, Professor Castle…I have been waiting for you. What took so long?"

There she is. On the couch

* * *

It is a very good thing that the offices have excellent sound proofing and a great lock and Kate and Rick have mastered the art of restraining their voices while in the throes of lovemaking because the university police might have called in a SWAT team to rescue whoever was being tortured in the room

Several minutes later, snuggled on the couch, these two are savoring what they just did to each other

Kate speaks first "Never boring?"

"You can say that again"

She just gently hums while moving deeper in his shoulder

"Hey, beautiful. What brought this on?"

A soft hum comes from her as she buries her head a little more into him "I came by the other day and saw one of the coeds hitting on you. I figured I might need to come and protect my property"

He pulls her tighter. "These young women have nothing that I would want or need. But feel free to come by any time and do property protection. I will look forward to that"

He feels a little laugh comes from her

She speaks softly "I wonder how many coeds and professors have used this couch like we just did?"

"Probably a lot, but I only know about one coed"

She lifts her head and gives him one of her looks that just melts him into a puddle "OH! Really? You know of one? Who?"

"You"

"ME? WHAT?"

"You didn't finish at Stanford and that technically still makes you a coed and I am currently a professor. So the professor and coed are…"

"You do know I carry a gun"

"Not in that dress you don't. He points to the outfit currently draped over the back of a chair "There is no place to put a gun or a badge…or even a slip of paper that would not be clearly visible"

"I love you Rick"

"Back at ya"

Kate starts to get up, begrudgingly, and reaches over for her dress as Rick begins getting his clothes back on as well

Castle's office has a small powder room off to the side with a toilet and a sink with a mirror in the corner. This is so an instructor can make sure they look their best before going to a classroom. It is a good thing that this is here since both of them are sporting 'I just had wild sex and it was amazing' hair and it might cause a few raised eyebrows if they leave his office like this.

As they have both straightened themselves up enough to be presentable, there is a knock on his door. Kate is still in the power room as Castle opens the door. He is somewhat shocked to see Dr. Sellers in the corridor outside

Castle speaks up "Dr. Sellers. What a surprise. Please come in"

He steps aside to allow her to enter

Once again she is dressed more to show off her curves than to be just business professional. Another short skirt and this time a silk blouse that clings to every curve and shows off her assets very well

From her vantage point in the power room, Beckett has a clear view of the activities happening just a few feet away and as a woman herself, Kate has no problem reading exactly what this other female has her sights on

"Well Rick I see that you have settled yourself in? Is there anything else you heart desires?"

And she seems to be pushing her chest out toward Rick

"Yes, I just need a computer and some red pencils to grade papers and I'm all good"

"Well Rick not a problem…but you can't be all work and no play. You need some fun in your life"

Kate is listening to the conversation happening out in the office and doing everything she can to keep her temperature under control and not go out and bitch slap the school leader

"Oh I have plenty of fun"

"Well Rick I want to make sure you do, so I came by to invite you to my house later. I am having a little dinner party at 7:00 with just of few of the facility and our best donors. I hope you can make it"

"Seven tonight? Yes I am sure we can make it"

"We. What do you mean WE?"

It is at this moment Kate decides she needs to make her appearance and she exits the powder room "Yes. WE! Rick and I would love to come to your party"


	6. Chapter 6

**For all the thoughts and prayers for us in Dallas...**

 **THANK YOU**

* * *

Later that afternoon relaxing at home Rick and Kate are sitting on the couch waiting for the return of the children.

Kate is laying on Rick's lap reading a book on her kindle while Rick is jotting down notes on a plain paper notepad. Or rather trying to make notes. The events of earlier today gave him some more fodder for the escapades of Nikki and Rook.

He wonders, at times, how many people have figured out that his stories are written very close to what happens with him and his wife behind closed bedroom doors…and sometimes other closed office doors, but at least they make sure the doors are closed

Castle's mind continues to drift to the beautiful woman currently relaxing with him. He is smiling and thinking about all the adventures they have shared before and since becoming a couple.

Kate looks up from her tablet to seen his face "What?"

"What, What?"

"Your smiling…and staring. That's creepy"

"I am thinking about how lucky I am"

"Lucky how?" she sits back up, puts her kindle down and slides next to her husband

"Lucky to have you. Lucky to love you. Lucky to be married to you"

"Wow. That's a lot of luckiness" She leans in to kiss him "What brought that on?"

"Today. This afternoon. Yesterday. Last week. Last month…the last five years"

"Long time to be lucky?" she remarks

"Kate. I don't say this enough but you are the best thing that has ever happened to me"

After being married for five years and being friends and partners for almost ten years, he can sometimes still get a blush out of her

"Back at ya"

The front entry door opens and the little two Castles head inside once again. "Hey mom, hey dad" comes from Alexis then followed closely behind by the voice of a much smaller version of Rick "MOMMY…DADDY"

Kate turns to face her son just as he climbs onto the couch "How was school today?" she asks

"Good…we learned about numbers" he holds his hand out and starts pointing his fingers "one…two…three"

Rick looks over to his son "And how many is Jimmy?"

He has to fight to hold up the three fingers "Three!"

Alexis speaks up "So…you two are going to a dinner party at the University President's house later huh?"

Kate Jimmy jumps down and runs up the stairs "I gotta go potty" bringing a chuckle from his mother

Answering Alexis' question "Yes we are" Beckett responds as she smirks at Castle and putting little innuendo in her voice "it seems the school president wants to impress some faculty and guests and see what favors she can get from them"

Rick looks at his wife "I would have told you about the invitation even if you weren't there"

"You went to the school today?" Alexis asks "Any particular reason?"

Bringing a renewed blush from Kate "I…uh…I just went to see your dad and see if we could grab some lunch"

Castle leans down and whispers to Kate "Or grab something else?"

She reaches over and pokes his arm "Not in front of the children" she whispers back

There is no doubt in Alexis' mind that something else happened besides a lunch break

"Do you know what you are going to wear" she asks Kate

"Yes. One of the dresses that your dad bought for me when we went to the wedding in Colorado"

Castle looks at Kate "Which one?" He remembers the dresses he made her buy. One or two were definitely not suited to be the matron of honor

"The dark blue-grey one" Kate replies with a hint of devil on her face

Castle lets out a huff

"It comes with a jacket that makes it more formal or without the jacket it becomes more evening cocktail"

"Oh is it that the nice grey with the deep V back and six inches above your knees? The one you showed to me when you were trying to select a dress for the Mayor's fund raiser a few weeks ago?"

"That is the one" Beckett responds

"You will be the hit of the evening" Alexis remarks

No one is looking at Castle who is sitting quietly just smiling trying to keep his blood pressure down

"Rick has prepared a dinner for the little Castle and his caregiver as Kate begins getting dressed. The knock on the door signals the arrival of the babysitter for the evening, Jim Beckett

Castle goes to the door and welcomes the man inside "I fixed diner for everyone, Jim. And that includes you"

"Thanks Rick, but just being able to watch my grandson is enough for me"

"Oh believe me you will need all your strength, so there is grilled chicken with broccoli and mashed potatoes"

The two men hear the voice of Alexis coming down the stairs "hi grandpa"

"Hi Lexi, don't you look nice?" She has dressed to go out to a party with some friends

"Thanks" as she rushes to get her shoes on. She looks at her dad "I'm gone. I 'll be home by midnight"

"Have fun pumpkin" Castle kisses her on top of the head then she turns toward the door, speaking a little louder "Have fun tonight mom"

Kate's voice is heard "You too"

Jim looks at Rick "Alexis is calling Katie mom now? I'll bet that was a surprise?"

"It was, and I have to tell you that your daughter is honored and I am proud. Listen Jimmy is upstairs. He has been waiting for you. He is excited and we appreciate you watching him for a few hours"

"My pleasure, now you better get ready and I'll see to it that he eats"

Rick and Kate are finishing getting dressed for the party. He is wearing one of his button down shirts, that Kate likes to wear when she feeling frisky. He added a nice tie and sports coat

She is just finishing putting on the dress she bought during their stay for the wedding in Colorado a few years ago. She has not worn it since then.

Her hair is pulled up in a bun on top of her head. She looks at herself in the mirror thinking back to when she bought it and how she was worried that after getting pregnant that she would never fit in it again especially after how big her boobs got.

But here she is…in the dress, and just like before, it hugs her body just right.

Castle walks up behind his wife and put his arms around her

She leans back against him "Is this ok Mr. Castle?"

"You will be the sexist woman there"

"How do you know who will be there?"

"I doesn't matter. You will be the sexist woman there"

She slips the jacket top on and turns to Rick. Do I look OK?"

"You know, if I wasn't married I would try to have my way with you right now"

"Well I might just take you up on that…"

Then into his ear "later"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The car service drops them off at the school president's house at around 6:45. Castle does not believe in being late. Not even fashionably late like what is his mother's choice

They knock on the door only to have it open quickly by a man in a butler's outfit. He stands aside and welcome's them inside

"So glad you two could come" They are quickly greeted by the administrator who is wearing a more modest dress that what she was wearing the last time Kate saw her "please come into the parlor. There are some others I want you to meet" She directs Rick and Kate father d the home

They come the great room where there are several others standing around holding drinks and talking.

After they pass the entry, Dr. Sellers speaks up "Everyone. This is Richard Castle, the famous author and his wife Katherine Beckett. Kate is a captain with the New York Police Department"

There is a soft murmuring of greeting from the assembled group.

Dr. Sellers begins introducing the other guests to Rick and Kate. She starts with the couple by the fireplace Professor Jordan Bailey and his wife, June. He is a professor of archeology. He is a well-groomed man probably in his early 40's and his wife is quite attractive herself. Not as tall as Kate with shorter strawberry blond hair and a nice figure. She is a real estate broker

Dr. Sellers moves around the room "This is Professor Jean Baxter and her husband Ray. She teaches history and Ray is in commercial real estate"

"Good to meet you" Rick says as he extends his hand and Kate does as well

Dr. Sellers continues to the next couple "This is Rod Best and wife Michelle. He teaches advanced mathematics and Michelle works for their church"

Then they finally the come to the last couple "Here we have Lawrence Crawford. He is the grand-son of the founder and now chancellor of the university His wife Tami is an international law attorney"

"Good to meet you, Mr. Castle. I have read a lot of your books" he looks at Kate "Especially enjoy the Nikki Heat series. I believe that this is the model for the character?"

"It's Rick. Thanks you for being a fan and yes" Castle looks at Kate who seems to be blushing once more "Yes she inspired me to write about the NYPD and her fine work"

The butler walks up to them "Can I get you something from the bar sir?"

Kate looks around and notices most guests are having white wine "A glass of white would be good"

Rick responds to the man "Two glasses of wine. Thank you"

For the next few minutes they mingle with the other guests waiting for the meal to be served. Castle just has to ask Jordan Bailey about any archeology field work he has done.

Naturally Kate knows where husband is going. She remembers o well when they had the case of the archeologist being killed by a Gargoyle falling from a building and how he got in trouble for opening a sarcophagus at the museum

She watches her man-child almost giddy listening to the stores of excavations he has been involved with and the artifacts he was able to locate

But, as is the most frequent occurrence, nothing of true importance is found.

"In fact, Rick, I spent two months in the Gobi dessert digging at a tell but found absolutely nothing" Bailey tells the couple

Kate looks at his wife "Jane, did you go to the desert as well?"

"OH No" June responds "I sell real estate and summer time is the best-selling time for me. So I just let him go do his thing. Gets him out of my hair for a little while. I am sure you understand Kate…getting a little time away from your husband"

Kate looks at Rick "No. Actually I love being with my husband"

Rick finishes the thought "In fact the longest we have been apart is four days while I was on a book tour"

Before Jane can even respond the butler enters the room and announces "Dinner is served"

For the next forty-five minutes enjoying a five course meal including appetizer, salad and soup followed by a nice medium prime rib ending with a modest portion of Crème Brule

After the deserts are finished Dr. Sellers offers for the men to go to the library and ladies will go to the living room for coffee and conversation

In the library, the men discuss the latest wins for the school Lacrosse team, when Lawrence Crawford brings up rick's date for the evening "Rick. So Kate is your inspiration for Nikki Heat?"

With much pride in his voice he responds "Yes. She is"

"How did you two meet" Road asks

"She arrested me" Rick responds causing a long pause in the conversation

"We met almost ten years. A murder occurred copied after one of my books and she took my breath away"

"She is strikingly beautiful"

"Thank you"

"How long have you been married?"

"Just under five years" he responds

Jordan asks the obvious question that all the men want to know "So those sex scenes in the books are…?

Rick answers quickly "NO. I wrote those first books while we were just partners and friends. Long before we became involved"

The general appearance in the room seem to be disappointment at his answer

Meanwhile in the parlor, the ladies are discussing shopping, in-laws and children. Jane finally asks the question "So Kate. Do you have any children?" assuming she does not since her figure is very slender

"A three year old boy. He is staying with my dad tonight"

There is a note of disbelief from Michelle "Wow, you look great"

Kate smiles and gives her thanks for the compliment

Michelle then directs her next comment to June. "I can't believe you let your husband out of your sight for two months each summer. You have no idea what he is doing when he is away from you"

June responds "He is getting hot and dirty digging in the dessert. If he wants to dig for old pots and pans, he can do that all he wants. I get to do my thing while he is gone"

The next comment is directed at Beckett "So you are a police captain?"

Kate smiles softly "Yes. I spent several years in homicides. That's where I met Rick. He followed me for the Nikki Heat series. We finally gave in to our own hearts and here I am"

Michele asks another question "So is your husband faithful? I mean he did have history"

Kate is not really understanding this woman's attitude "I trust him completely. When he first came around he was still chasing skirts, then it became evident that he and I has so much chemistry we had to stop denying it"

"We, Ms. Beckett if you believe that your man or any man will stay faithful, you have a hard lesson to learn"

This woman is evidently not happy with something going on in her life "I just have a hard believing any man can stay faithful to one woman"

She takes a deep breath

"I know my husband is running around on me…"

The hostess decides this is a good time to halt this little conversation.

"I think we need to see how the others are doing" she stands and moves toward the library to rejoin the men. Kate knows this is the sign that the evening is reaching its conclusion and not any too soon


	7. Chapter 7

After Rick and Kate offer the couple's thanks to their hostess for the nice evening meal, company, and conversation, Castle has called a cab to pick them up. This neighborhood does not have regular wandering taxis down every block looking for passengers.

Once in the back of the taxicab, heading back to the loft, Kate has snuggled up close to into her husband's side

"What's the matter Kate?" Rick can tell that she has something that is on her mind

She takes his arm and pulls across her front and to her chest. Wrapping both arms around his, she then takes a firm grip on his hand. She leans her head over to his shoulder

"What is it Kate?" he asks

"I love you"

"I love you too"

He pauses for a brief moment "What brought this on?"

"We are good together…aren't we? You and me?"

"We are the best…Kate, is something wrong?"

She slides her hand up his arm "Everything is good. In fact everything is fantastic"

"What is happening inside that beautiful little head of yours?"

"Those women tonight" she tilts her head as if pointing toward the house they just departed from "They talked about how they were glad their husband would be gone for months or how all men unfaithful. One of the women said she knew her husband was having an affair and that all men cheated"

"Kate she is largely right. There are a lot of men in bad marriages that cheat. Sometimes they are not bad people, they are just missing something. The marriage was no longer interesting"

"You mean the lack if intimacy?"

"Not just that. But that can be a big part. Sometimes it is the lack of communications. The lack of mystery in their lives. Or challenges. The lack of common ground or common interests"

She never moves from his shoulder "You mean like a world famous, rich, mystery writer and a run of the mill homicide cop? No common ground" and she giggles to let him know she is only kidding

"We have so much common ground. I create crimes…at least on paper. You investigate crimes. And we enjoy solving them…together"

She smiles at the comment then asks "What were the men talking about all evening?"

"You"

Kate lifts her head from his arm "ME? Why were they talking about me?"

"I told you that you were going to be the sexist woman at the party and I was right"

Laying her head back on his arm she just smiles and she can feel just a little flush rise on her face

"In fact, I thought I might just have to challenge them to a duel to protect your honor"

Bringing a little laugh from Kate

"Not to mention Nikki Heat is a top selling series of books and you are the inspiration"

After a moment of silence, Rick comments again about the events of earlier today "I was so glad you came today"

"Not just today" she whispers to him

He almost gags "That was not what I meant. I thought Dr. Sellers was going to have a heart attack when you walked into my office today"

"I did think she looked a little surprised, like I interrupted her plans for the afternoon… and evening especially how she was dressed. And is she always that much of a flirt?"

"It was well timed interruption. Thank you for being there. And YES. She is a flirt. But I don't think I am the exclusive recipient of that attention"

Another short pause is broken "Castle, those women tonight seemed determined that their husbands were cheating. I have to ask something"

"OK. What?"

"Have you ever been tempted? I mean there are a lot of beautiful women out there. I know that the women try to pick you up at book signings. I know the sexy young coeds…"

He squeezes her fingers "Kate…why would a man, who has a Lamborghini waiting for him at home, even be distracted by a new shiny two wheel mountain bike? Just because it's fast?"

He pauses "Then when you crash it's really, really bad"

This makes Kate look up again "So what are you saying Castle, that I'm an Italian Sports Car?"

"Yes and the best I see out there is a tricycle" he points out the window "So. no competition"

She almost laughs out loud. She drops her voice to a sultry level "Then I suggest we hurry and get home soon so we can get a ride in your Lamborghini"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next morning begins with the coffee ready and Castle in the middle of making waffles with a side of bacon just as Alexis and Jimmy rush down the stairs.

"Daddy" comes from the running 3 year old "where's mommy?"

"I'm right here" Kate answers as she enters the kitchen

The smallest Castle is in his mother's arms so fast she almost falls over

"Daddy, I'm hungry" he says as he jumps up down from Kate then into his booster chair

"Well, little man you're breakfast is almost ready" as Castle pours another ladle of waffle mix into the waffle iron

"So dad, how was the party last night?" Alexis asks

"It was interesting. The diner was delicious and we got to meet several of the other faculty and the grandson of the university founder"

"So my mom and dad are moving up in the word of academia? Fancy diner parties and rubbing shoulders with the elite in the world of education"

"Not exactly" Kate responds then looks at her husband "Let's just say we are happy where we are in life" She leave a poignant pause "I know I am" she smiles at her family

When breakfast is finished Alexis stands and tells her brother "Come on let's get you to school"

Jimmy jumps down and rushes to get his bag

"Pumpkin, are sure you don't mind taking your brother to school every day?"

"No dad. I am fine doing that. He is great to be around"

Kate smiles at the remark "Or is it you don't mind seeing the son of the school's owner helping to check in the kids every morning?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about" the red read responds as her and her little brother head out the door

"Well Mrs. Castle. We are alone…would you care to take another ride in my sports car?"

The smile on Kate's face give him his answer but at this moment Beckett's cell phone chirps. In a huff, she picks it up and looks at the message "I think we need to delay that road trip. There has been a murder be have been asked to investigate…"

Her face goes blank then she answers "At Ballard University"

"At the school?" Castle is obviously shocked "Who?"

Kate looks up to her husband "Dr. Sellers was found bludgeoned to death in her office this morning"


	8. Chapter 8

**From all of us in Dallas to all our friends in France**

 **We feel your pain**

* * *

The couple are heading out on the street going to the university and the newest case for her major crimes unit.

Kate has activated her emergency lights. She wants to arrive as quickly as possible and is also using her siren at traffic lights to expedite their arrival

When they enter the university grounds it is evident that this is definitely considered a major crime. The area around the main building has been cordoned off by uniformed officers and the administration building is being secured by another line of police

Once again they are arriving at a crime scene that is under the jurisdiction of another precinct other than the 12th and the investigators that would normally be in charge are showing their distain for being dropped to second place behind the lead of Beckett's team

Captain Becket presents her credentials to the recording officer who looks at her 'Captain" badge then stiffens realizing exactly who she is. Her reputation is well known in the department and her record of case solving is still unmatched

Once inside the building Castle and Beckett move quickly toward the administrator's office area where they are greeted by Detectives' Allen Sexton and Roland Bryan

"I am Captain Kate Beckett and this is my partner Richard Castle" she introduces themselves to the two men. "What do you have here?"

Using the term 'you' instead of 'we' makes the two men feel a little more wanted instead of the usual being kicked to the curb by the primary investigators.

Allen Sexton responds "We have the university president, Dr. Margaret Sellers, found dead at 8:45 this morning by her assistant, Misty Rowe" he points toward the line of desks where the young woman is sitting, obviously distraught and crying

Roland Bryan continues "Miss Rowe usually arrives about 8:40 to 8:45. If the door is open, she knows that the president has already arrived. If not, then the door is closed"

Sexton continues "She saw the door open, dropped her stuff on her desk and went in to say high to Dr. Sellers. That is when she found her dead on the floor in front of her desk. An obvious head wound with a lot of blood everywhere"

Kate looks in the direction of the inner office "We will be right back out" She and Castle grab a pair of shoe covers and gloves. After putting the evidence protection gear on, they enter the space.

Dr. Parish is leaning over the body "Hey Lanie" Kate remarks when they get close

"Hey yourself" then medical examiner responds without even looking up "What are you doing here? I thought you only got the weird ones…like a girl in a deep fryer"

"That one too, but this is a very high profile case, so my team got called in"

"Glad you did" Lanie responds

"So, what do you have?"

"I looks like she was pushed into the side of the desk" Lanie points toward the edge of the very heavy, very expensive desk "the head wound matches the corner of the desk top and there is blood and fibers on the corner" Again the ME points toward the location

"Do you know how long she has been dead?" Beckett asks

"No more than an hour before it was called in. I am estimating about 6:30 maybe a little earlier but not before that"

Beckett and Castle walk around the room taking in everything they can see when Beckett asks the question "Rick, you have been in this office before. Does anything look out of place or missing? ...or were you too distracted to remember?"

Dr. Parish looks up "Distracted?"

"Nothing Lanie" Castle responds then looks at his wife who is grinning at him and enjoying teasing him

He looks more closely then points toward the desk "She had a desktop pen and pencil set right here" he points toward the center. It was marble with a gold set. There was a name tag on the front facing a guest"

Beckett walks to the chair side then looks at the floor. This is where she locates the described set "It's here on the floor. I will let CSU handle this"

She looks at her husband "Anything else missing or out of place?"

"No. That is the only thing I can remember?"

Lanie stands up and directs the two transport men to go ahead and load the body on the gurney

"I will give you more information as soon as I do the autopsy"

"Thanks, Lanie" Beckett and Castle step aside to allow the technicians room to do their job

As the body is being loaded on the gurney, Captain Beckett and her husband return to the reception area and the two local precinct detectives, who have been waiting the entire time.

As they approach Beckett begins her debrief "Detectives, what do you have so far?"

Detective Sexton answers "We interviewed all the office staff and Misty was the first one to enter the office this morning. The others did not even know anything happened until they heard her scream and then they rushed in to see what happened"

Beckett continues "Do we know if they contaminated the crime scene?"

Bryan answers that question "No. They said when they saw the blood, everyone stopped going any further and called us"

Beckett looks aback toward the door as the coroner personnel are rolling the body out "If you already have the uniforms doing a canvas, you two go back to the precinct. You know what to do. Get started on the murder board and Castle and I will be in shortly"

The two detectives look at each other then walk out of the area.

As they clear the office Sexton turns toward his partner "I thought that she would pull rank and boot us off the case"

"I guess she is not the ice queen we all thought she is" Bryon remarks

His partner also comments "Yeah. In fact she is pretty hot"

Bryon stops walking and turns to his partner "You do know her story…right?"

"Not everything. Why?"

Her mother was murdered and that is why she became a cop. Youngest woman to make detective. In the academy, most of the records are hers and that very large man with her? Richard Castle is her husband…he is personal friends with the mayor, commissioner and several judges. He is wealthy so you don't even want to get caught looking at her that way"

"OH?"

Beckett and Castle return into the inner office and are looking around more closely "Kate" Castle gets his wife's attention "The two chairs are out of place, like someone was here struggling" pointing at the guest seating

She looks at the carpet where the eight indentations are clearly visible where the chairs would normally be placed

She walks around the space "So this was probably not a mugging or break in"

"Probably not"

They spend a few more minutes in the room then she turns to the lead sergeant with the CSU doing the work up. Beckett looks toward the team leader "Sarg, when you finish send your report to me along with whoever is scheduled to get the reports"

"Sure captain" he answers as he turns back to the task at hand

Beckett and Castle are leaving the inner office and back to the reception area. They go to the young assistant sitting still crying at what she witnessed this morning

"Misty, I am Captain Beckett and this is Mr. Castle. We know this had been rough but we would like to talk to you if toy feel like you can do that"

The young college student looks up from the desk and sees Castle and recognizes him from the day he came to see the school president "Yes. I think I can do that. You are the professor who came by a week or so ago"

Beckett sits down next to the girl. "Can you tell up what happened this morning?"

"I came in the main door and dropped my stuff on the desk here" she spints to her normal work location

Castle asks the next question "Was the hall door locked when you arrived?"

Misty looks at Castle "Yes. Yes it was locked"

Castle looks at Beckett "Someone had a key to lock the door back after they left"

Misty looks at the couple "No. Dt .Sellers had an outside door"

"We didn't see any door" Beckett responds

"It is concealed inside one of the bookcases" Misty can be seen turning red

"What is it Misty?"

"Mo one would talk about it but Dr. Sellers used it a lot to have visitors that could come and go without being seen"

She pauses a moment "She had a lot of…visitors…ur…guests that we never saw come in"

"She had a lot of male visitors?"

The young woman turns red once more as she gently nods her head "Yes"

"Misty" Beckett is trying to be gentle with the young woman who seems very embarrassed by the discussion taking place "Do you think one of these men would kill her?"

The pause in her answer leaves Castle and Beckett wondering if she is thinking if there is one or she knows and is trying to figure out a way to not answer

"I don't know who all she…uh…entertains but from how she acts, I think they are not the type to kill her. They seem to be enjoying having her"

After making sure all the evidence is gathered and on its way back to the station, Castle and Beckett are in her cruiser on their way to the 54th precinct to meet back up with Detectives Bryan and Sexton and fill them in on the information they have gathered and review the case information, then they plan to return to the 12th and meet back with her original partners and get up to speed on the girl in the cooker

As they pull out from the Rick's hand and wraps her fingers into his. They ride silently until just before their arrival at the station "Kate. Is something wrong?"

A gentle smile crosses her face "Nothing is wrong. Everything is right. That woman came after my man and he turned her down. I have a man in my life that was not tempted by that cougar back there"

"I wasn't tempted, but how do you know?"

"You didn't know about her secret entrance"


	9. Chapter 9

Castle and Beckett pull into the front parking lot at the 54th precinct and move inside.

When they arrive at the homicide floor and exit the elevator, Castle tells Kate he is heading to the murder board while she tells her husband she is going to the unit captain's office and check in with him

When Rick sees the two detectives waiting at their respective desks, has walks toward them. Detective Sexton notices Castle first "Mr. Castle. Glad to see you"

"Thanks, but please call me Rick"

The two men stand and they notice Castle glancing at the murder board "Have you two got anything new?"

"Not really" Byron responds "We did request a subpoena to pull the victims financials and phone records and we are just waiting for the paperwork back from the judge so we can begin"

Beckett approaches the team with their captain beside her. Captain Zane Shelton is the head of the 54th "I hear you two have already met Captain Beckett and her partner and husband Richard Castle"

"Yes sir" the two men respond together

The local commander continues "I received a call this morning from the commissioner alerting me that Captain Beckett was coming in to lead the investigation but she has just told me that she expects us to stay in the front of this case for her. The other lead detectives permanently assigned to her team are involved in another case. She tells me that her and her team will offer any and all support that we need. This is a very high profile case and so co-operation is paramount"

The two man indicate their understanding

Captain Shelton continues "Then I will leave all of you to your investigation" He turns and walks back to his office

Beckett looks around "Is there a spare desk I can use?

Roland points to the desk immediately beside his "This officer is on vacation and you can use his for now"

Beckett walks over and drops her bag on the desk and then returns to the murder board that has been started "Castle and I got a lot of information from the assistant this morning. It appears our educator and victim was romantically involved with some of the faculty" Kate takes the opportunity to glance toward her husband. He suddenly feels like he is standing on stage, in front of an audience, nude

"Castle told me she even threw a line toward him when he first checked in to teach to see if she could hook him"

Detective Sexton looks at Rick "You are a professor at the university?"

"Adjunct only" Castle responds "I am teaching a twelve week course on creative writing"

"So you did have interaction with the school president?" Bryan asks

"Yes. The day I checked in to do my paperwork. I do have to say she was very aggressive and to the point that she wanted more than just lectures"

"So you believe that she might have been killed as a result of an illicit liaison? Bryan asks

"Oh I think it is definitely probable that she did" Beckett responds "Her assistant told us that she had a private entrance to her office from the outside. No security cameras, no snooping assistants. Anyone could come and go unseen"

"So we have no video of a possible visitor?" Sexton asks

"Evidently not" Beckett answers "but we might have a witness who would have noticed an early morning guest entering or leaving thru the secret door"

Bryan follows up "We will get uniforms to canvass the area and try to find a witness"

"Great" Beckett responds as she turns to the spare desk "In the meantime, Castle and I will check in with the team at the 12th and see if they have anything on the other case we are working on"

The two local detectives walk out as Kate sits down at the desk. She looks around and gets her bearings, locating the telephone and a computer connection where she can attach a laptop. On new addition to her carry all bag is a shiny new laptop

Rick locates a spare chair and places it beside the desk and assumes his favorite location.

Beside his partner facing her

She immediately notices what he has done "Déjà vu Castle?"

"Very much so. You do know what this means, Kate?"

She looks up at him "What?"

"I get to fall in love with you all over again"

A little light appear around her eyes

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ryan and Esposito have built a very impressive murder board. All the necessary information except for one detail

They have not been able to determine that anyone wanted the victim dead. She was the type of person everyone wanted as a friend. She was always smiling. Always had a kind greeting to anyone she saw. Never raised her voice. Her fellow workers at the restaurant all praised her on her attitude even when they had a grumpy customer.

In fact she usually turned a complaining customer into a happy customer planning on returning. She could extinguish a harsh situation in moments.

The one thing they could not seem to get a lead on what if any love life she might have. No one knew of any relationship she might have had. The manager of the store stated that he once tried to ask her out just for coffee and she very politely declined indicating that she has someone she was interested in, 'but thank you anyway'

An e-mail pops into Ryan's inbox and his computer chimes announcing its presence

Kevin opens the attachment and begins looking over the document and does not see any transaction that appears out of place. He continues reading the screen when the desk phone rings and his partner reaches for the handset.

"Esposito…" he listens for only a moment "hey boss. How are you and writer boy doing? You know it's not nice to take a major case and leave us working on the coed in the deep fryer?"

Beckett can almost be heard gasping "What do you mean…Coed?"

"Oh you haven't heard. Our victim was a former student of Ballard University"

Beckett: "She went to Ballard? When was that?"

Esposito: "She dropped out the end of last year"

Beckett: "That is an expensive place to attend. She is working at a chicken shack. How could she afford the tuition?"

Esposito: Her parents are wealthy but they cut her off. We are trying to find out what happened but they are out of town right now. In fact they have not yet been notified. We left a message at his office but when we told them it was in relation to the daughter, the secretary did not seem interested in passing the request on to them"

Beckett" I wonder if her losing her financing was related to her death…listen keep trying to contract the parents and also keep trying to locate witnesses in businesses close by. Hopefully someone saw something"

Esposito "Got it. So Beckett, Tell us more about the school president"

Beckett "She was found dead in her office this morning. She had a secret door and was known for having affairs with the men on the facility"

Esposito: "Hey, Beckett, Castle is on the faculty now. You might ask him if he knows anything…"

Beckett: "Shut up. Now listen. Keep digging and I will be back there later"

Esposito: "Got it boss"

Beckett disconnects the call and turns back to her husband "Esposito has a good point. The president did make several passes at you and…"

In a tiny amount of panic Castle stops her "Listen…I…uh…I told you"

Kate reaches to his hand "Shush, babe. I know. I don't think anything happened with you and her, but I do believe she was doing some of the other male instructors. But. More important now is we need to check into our other victim, Blair Collins. Let's head back to the university and pull her records"

In the cruiser on the way to the school, Castle is thinking

"Do you think our victim at the chicken store's death might have something to do with her dropping out of the school?"

"No, but it can't hurt to find out as much as we can about her past"

They enter the administration building again and head to the registrars' office. When they arrive the clerk is not willing to open any files so she calls over to the president's office hoping to talk to the dean. She hangs up on the call and turns back to Castle and Beckett "The president's assistant is coming over to help you"

Beckett thanks the clerk and then she and Castle walk back to the door. Beckett's thoughts turn back thinking about the president "You know Castle, if Dr. Sellers was sleeping with the professors here, their wives would not be happy"

"Do you think one of her partners wives could be a suspect?"

She looks at Castle with an evil glint in her eyes "I know I would"

He whispers to her "That is one of the reasons I don't mess around. I would not want to have to visit my wife in prison"

The corridor door opens and Misty enters "Captain Beckett, Can we talk?"

"Sure" Beckett responds and the three move into a conference room and close the door

After the door closes the young woman again appears distraught about something "When I heard you were asking about Blaire I knew I had to tell you something"

Beckett answers "What is it Misty? Did she have trouble with someone?"

"No…not trouble with someone,…but she might have gotten herself in trouble"

"Trouble how?"

The young lady sits down and takes a deep breath "My freshman year I met Blaire. She was a sophomore. She was an archology student"

"OK she wanted to dig up relics" Castle comments

"Yes. She did. In fact there was a field trip to South Dakota to dig for possible dinosaur bones. Several of us went. In fact half the class including Blair. We kind of became friends before the trip"

Beckett reacts "Misty, did something happen on that field trip?"

"Yes. Something happened"

"What?"

"She…uh…her and one of the professors…they kind of hooked up"

Kate looks across the table at Rick then back to the girl "Misty…who did Blaire hook up with?"

"Bailey…Professor Bailey?

Rick leans into Kate "He is a professor of anthropology"

Kate responds "And married"

"I call that motive, Mrs. Bailey" Castle finishes


	10. Chapter 10

Before the day is over Captain Beckett has every intent to interview the woman who is currently high on her list of persons of interest in the death of Blair Collins in a vat of cooking oil

As her and her husband pull into her parking space at the 12th their conversation quickly moves from the case of the dead university president over o the dead coed in the chicken shop

"Kate, do you think that June Bailey is strong enough to have placed our victim into the vat?"

"Lanie said that Blair was hit on the back of the head, probably fell forward, and half way into the vat. The killer would only have to lift her legs in drop her into the tank"

As the couple ware walking toward the elevator, Castle continues the theory discussion "If the killer hit her with a full bottle of oil and then dumped her over there had to be some spillage"

Beckett continues the thought "The murderer had to get some on their clothes. If we can get a search warrant, we can check her clothes for cooking oil stains"

As they exit the elevator Castle is continuing his thoughts "And that is a special high temperature oil. It would not be something from home. The chemical makeup will be very easy to determine"

As they approach her office, Castle and Beckett see Ryan and Esposito have brought in the suspect and are escorting her into interrogation room 2

Ryan comes out and walks up to the couple "She has no idea why we brought her in. I think she believes we need her as a witness. That she may information we can use"

"OK, let me and Castle go in and you and Espo go to her home and execute the search warrant"

"Got it" Kevin responds and turns back toward the observation room to get his partner "What are we looking for in particular?"

"We think that if she killed Blair Collins, she probably got some of the cooking oil on her clothes. Look for any clothing item with stains that might be from spilled oil"

Ryan nods his head to acknowledge her request

"How are you going to approach her?" Castle asks

"She thinks she is a material witness. We will let her keep thinking that while CSU and the guys are searching her home"

They wait until the guys have left before entering the interrogation room

As she opens the door Beckett looks at the woman. She seems very calm and not worried at all about being at the station

"Thank you for coming in Ms. Baily" Beckett begins

"OH, Kate. It is June you know. After the other evening I thought we were on a first name basis"

"True, but here in my precinct, we need to keep it professional, so I think Captain Beckett is more proper"

The woman seems truly surprised .OK, Captain, how can I help you?"

"What can you tell me about Blaire Collins?"

The look on the woman's face tells the entire story if she is to be believed "Who is Blaire Collins?"

Castle responds "She works at the Cajun Chicken store over on Lex"

She never changes her expression "I have never been there and I don't know Blaire Collins"

Beckett pulls out a photograph of the victim "You are saying you have never met this woman?"

She shakes her head "No! I have never seen her before, and I have never eaten at the chicken place you mentioned"

Beckett begins her interrogation voice "Are you trying to tell me that you have never seen this woman?"

"NO! What is this all about?"

Beckett gets more aggressive in her questions "Where were you last Monday, early in the morning of?"

That question brings out a reaction from the woman "Why do you want to know where I was last Monday?"

"That is when Blaire was murdered?"

"Murdered? You think I was involved in her murder? Why would I murder her?"

"Because she was banging your husband"

The suspect has now switched to a dear in the headlights look on her face

"Ms. Bailey, we have officers searching your home right now looking for proof you were in the chicken store"

"What do you think you will find that proves I was involved in this woman's death?" She points at the photograph still laying on the table

"Whoever killed Blaire will most likely have cooking oil spilled on her clothes and her shoes"

The woman seems very confident "Well Captain, you will not find any chicken oil on my clothes. I was not at the chicken store. I did not kill this woman"

"Why should we believe you didn't kill her for sleeping with your husband?

"And I knew about her and my husband"

This response was not what Castle or Beckett was expecting "You KNEW about him and her having an affair?" Beckett asks

"Yes, captain. I knew all about her. I didn't know who she was but I knew he was sleeping with someone. I just didn't know who"

This response leaves Beckett a little off guard

Castle finally breaks the silence "your husband is sleeping with a young woman and you are not upset? Why?"

"Mr. Castle. Let's just say that he was not the only one straying outside the marriage"

Beckett glares at the woman "You're sleeping with someone?"

The woman's expression shows that she is not bothered at being found out "Let's just say that Jordan and I have an understanding"

"Understanding?" Castle asks

"Yes. An understanding. He has his little field trips including connecting with some hot young thing and I connect with some hunky thing. In fact that is where I was last Monday"

Beckett realizes that June has hinted to this the other night at the university president's diner party when she said she was glad when he was gone during the summer

"Ms. Bailey…so you are telling us you knew all about your husband's relationships?"

"Oh yes. I knew all about them. I knew about this Blaire Collins and Tammy Robards last year and Edith Moore the year before"

This was not what Beckett and Castle were expecting

"Ms. Bailey…you said you were having an affair with someone?" Beckett asks "We need to know who"

Captain, I may have an open marriage but his wife might not be as understanding"

"I don't care if his wife is open or not, but I need to talk to him"

June pauses a few seconds thinking about her answer "Ray Baxter"

Rick almost chokes at the answer. He remembers meeting him and his wife Jean at the party

The woman continues her answer "We are both in real estate. We just meet up at a house that we listed and…well you know. A lot of them still have furniture and we just make use of …"

Kate hold her hand up so the woman will not finish the sentence

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Walking out of the interrogation room Rick looks at Kate "If we ever put you old apartment or our loft up for sale we need to make sure we remove the furniture first…. Especially the bed"

All he can hear from his wife is "Eww"

When Castle and Beckett get back to her office and sit down at her desk she pauses briefly and then looks to her husband when she states. June knew her husband was popping Blaire Collins"

"Jordan just wanted a shiny mountain bike"

Using his description makes him smile "Blaire wanted more than just a fling"

Kate: "He went to the store to break it off"

Rick: "They fought"

Kate: "She tried to hit him"

Rick: "He picked up the closest object…"

Kate: "A container of oil"

Rick: He would have no trouble dumping her into the vat"

About that moment Ryan and Esposito enter the office "He didn't do it either"

"WHAT?" Beckett responds

"No oil was found on any of the clothes, or anything else at the Bailey house" Esposito answers "and Jordan Bailey was there."

Ryan continues"We questioned him about his relationship with our victim. He told us that he and his wife have an understanding about…shall we say other activities, and yes he had been seeing Collins but he said she dumped him last spring. It seems she found someone else. She told him that this new guy was going to help her get back in school

Castle makes the statement "But that doesn't mean he was happy about it"

"He told us he has a new girlfriend already and we talked to her"

Beckett looks up "Great. They were our best suspects. Now we need to start over. Where are we on her financials?"

"I just got an e-mail saying we got the warrant" Ryan answers "We will serve it tomorrow first thing"

"Alright. See you guys tomorrow" Kate tells her two officers

They leave her office just as Castle's phone chimes with an appointment alarm.

Beckett looks at her husband "Poker night with the mayor and commissioner?"

He looks like he really doesn't want to go. He would rather be home with his family and Kate can see it in his face "Babe, you go play with the boys. I want a little quiet time at home with my other guy"

He stands and leans over to her cheek "Be careful. He has been doing a great job wrapping you around his little finger"

"OK" she responds with a tone of understanding

"I'll be home late. Don't wait up"

"OK, I love you" Kate says

"Back at ya"


	11. Chapter 11

**Just a little family time**

* * *

While her husband is off playing poker with his buddies at the mayor's house, Kate is heading on home to spend a special evening with just her and her son. Just some mommy and son time.

The moment she enters the private school to pick up the little guy, the small boy comes running up to her "Mommy, mommy" and he almost launches himself into her arms. Having this little Castle love her as much as big Castle warms every strand in her soul

Kate looks at the young man behind the counter that she knows Alexis has a crush on. He is cute for a twenty something year old

"Hey, slow down and let mommy get your stuff and we will head home. He rushes back to the classroom and returns a moment later carrying his lunch box and small bag

Once inside the car the young Castle does what his father is so good at…Talking.

He talks non-stop while they are head home. Once in the parking garage and out of the car, he runs, heading to the elevator. He has tried to reach the call buttons for as long a Kate can remember but due to his small stature, he has not yet reached the panel…but today he succeeds. He does have to jump a little but he accomplishes his goal of lighting the up button calling the elevator down to their level

"Look mommy…I pushed the button" his excitement is pouring out

She smiles at the guy "I see that"

Just minutes later Kate and Jimmy are out of the elevator and heading in the door of the loft

Let me put my stuff away…OK?" Beckett says as they enter the main room

"OK, mommy" he rushes upstairs to put his things in his room.

Kate goes to the bedroom to secure her weapon and change out of her work clothes. She tells her son to wait on the bed while she changes in the dressing room

She turns toward the bedroom just minutes, after putting on a pair of long pajama pants and a loose t-shirt.

When she walks back to the bedroom she finds Jimmy sitting quietly on the bed just waiting

"OK little guy…let's go find something to eat" and she pulls him off the bed and into her arms and after a long hug, sets him down on the floor

"What do you want tonight?" Beckett opens the refrigerator and begins looking at the selections

"PIZZA" he almost yells "I want pizza. Daddy always makes stuff like brochley and spismich and other green stuff. Can we have a pizza tonight? PLEASE? PLEASE? I promise I won't tell daddy if we do"

She just can't refuse him. Rick is right. This guy has completely taken her heart and filled a place no one else will every achieve

"What kind do you want tonight?"

"Pepperoni"

"Pepperoni it is." She picks up the phone and places the order

When she lays the phone down on the coffee table she finds her son has already grabbed the remote control and has turned the television on and selected the cartoon channel

She sits down beside him and pulls him close "What did you do in school today?"

"We learned about different birds. Did you know that birds eat all day? They fly around so much they have to eat all the time"

"Is that right?"

"Yeah…" Then the little guy seems to have another question "Mommy, can I ask you a question?"

Not ever knowing what he might have on his mind, her head immediately goes to the birds. Is he going to ask about the birds and the bees She is defiantly not ready for that question?"

"Mommy, why did you pick daddy to be my daddy?"

That was not the question she expected "You want to know why I picked your daddy?"

"Yeah. Daddy said he picked you from all the mommies because you are special, but sissy never told me about you. Did you having a lot of daddies to pick from?"

Kate wraps her arms around her little boy and pulls him tight. "Yes, I picked your daddy from other guys who could have been daddies…but I think I picked the best one because he already had Lexi and she was a great little girl and that told me that your daddy was special too"

She knew he will not understand how she felt in her heart and how his protection of the other women in his life meant he would care for her and any other children also. Just like he did

Jimmy looks at the television for a moment "you found a good daddy for me"

Kate smiles at her son thinking 'I did pick a good one'

After the two have finished their pizza, she looks at the clock and realizes it is approaching Jimmy's bed time "Hey little guy. Time for your bath and bed"

Acting like his sister and not arguing, he climbs down and starts up the stairs with his mother close behind.

Once he gets undressed and into the tub, Kate has his toys in the water and a towel on standby to dry him off

He never fusses, in fact he seems to enjoy getting a bath. Once they are finished and he is dressed for bed, he heads to his room and climbs into bed. Kate walks up to the bed and tucks him in

"Mommy, will you tell me a story?"

"A story?"

"Daddy has been telling me a story every night"

Kate looks at the nightstand then around the room and does not see a story book of any kind "What book has daddy been reading to you?"

"Oh he is not reading a book, he is making up a story for me. He said it is like the stories he writes for grown-ups but this one is just for me"

"He has been making up stories for you? She is honestly intrigued "What kind of stories?"

"It is about a beautiful girl that lives in the village. She is tall and pretty. She has long brown hair and green eyes" he reaches up to his mother "just like you, mommy"

Kate is becoming more interested by the moment "Tell me a little about the story daddy is doing for you?" Kate asks hoping to get an idea of what her husband is thinking

"She is a warrior at night but during the day she is a pretty damsel living a normal life"

"Tell me more about this girl. Does she have a family?"

"No she is orphaned so she battles against the evil people in the kingdom. She takes her sword and leaves home and looks for the guys who steal from the other people and hurts other people and she stops them"

"And during the day, she is just a regular person?"

"NOT regular person, mommy. She is the most beautiful girl in the village…no she is most beautiful in the entire world"

"Does she have a prince charming?"

"Of course she does. He is the king and he has a castle that she can go to and be safe but she did not like him when they first met. There were a lot of other princesses in the kingdom that wanted him but he wanted her to like him. He tried to get her to like him for a long time, but she thought he was too rich and he was too important and she was only a poor damsel and she was only wanted to go after the dragon that lurked in a cave just outside of town"

"So there is a dragon in a cave?"

"Yes. The dragon ate her family and she wants to slay him, so she goes after the dragon all the time"

"I bet this is scary"

"It was scary because the dragon almost ate her too but the king finally got her to let him be her friend and he helped her to bring the dragon out"

"So the king and the girl got the dragon? Together?"

"Yes"

"And then what happened?"

"They fell in love and he married her and they lived happily ever after"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It is quite late when the loft door opens and Castle enter his home. There is one light on in the room. The table lamp beside the love seat is on. And this is where he sees a lone figure sitting there

Even in the dark, he recognizes the silhouette of his lovely wife

"Hey" He speaks softly as he approaches her

Without looking up she responds "Hey yourself"

"What are you doing up? I thought you would probably be in bed long ago"

"Couldn't sleep"

"Is something wrong?"

She reaches up and pulls herself up to stand beside him "why do you think there is something wrong?"

"Because it's late and you should be in bed resting for tomorrow"

She leans into his side "You constantly do things to make me love you more and more"

She begins pulling him into their bedroom and she closes the door. Turning to his face she puts her long fingers around his neck as he places his arms around her waist as he leans in to kiss her runs his hands down to her hips.

As he begins to kiss her, his hands go a little further south and he feels her react to his touch and a soft sound comes from somewhere deep inside her then she speaks "I just want us to keep doing this forever"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

When time for breakfast arrives both Castle and Beckett are running a little slow this morning. Kate steps up behind her man and leans her head on his back. A sign of affection that Rick just enjoys so much.

"Morning love" he comments as she hums against his back

He turns around "I never got a chance to ask what brought all this on last night?" What did I do?"

"You have been telling Jimmy our story? The story of Nikki and Rook?" her long fingers sliding across his ear.

"Only a PG version" he responds

Just as he finishes the statement, a wild 3 year old clears the stairs "Hi ever body" He is almost is yelling

Kate points at their son "He is what you did. You gave me him"

Castle has a questioning look on his face wondering what Jimmy could have said to make her feel this way then he and Kate turn to look at the guy. Kate speaks first "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept good mommy. Diner last might made my tummy full and happy"

Castle looks at the little one "What did you and mommy eat last night?"

Fear appears on Kate's face as the answer comes out "PIZZA"

Castle looks at her as she shrugs her shoulder then she looks at Jimmy "Traitor"

Laughter fills the loft


	12. Chapter 12

Castle and Beckett have decided that they will go first to the 54th first, then afterwards go back to the 12th to finish the day with her old partners

When they get there, they are going to see what Sexton and Bryan have been able to get in the way of information from the victim's financials and then contact Ryan and Esposito to see what her other two are working on at the 12th

Then as they pull out of the loft parking garage, Beckett begins their morning theory building "Babe, I hope Sexton and Bryan are getting some good leads going on their case"

Castle waits a minute before responding "You know Kate, I think we need to get both teams to put up their murder boards and then compare them. Look for commonalities"

She looks across the car "You think the two cases are connected? You think the same killer is involved in both?"

"Yeah I think there is that definite possibility"

Beckett thinks about his statement "One was killed in a chicken shop and the other in her office at the university. One was a student who had to drop out and the other the university president. What do you think the two could possibly have in common that would get them killed?"

"Our victim Blaire was having an affair with one of the professors. What we need to do is find out if he and the university president were involved with this same professor at the same time as well"

"We already determined that Blair was sleeping with Bailey and that June did not care who her husband was doing and he had no problem moving from one student to another" Kate responds

"Right!. But what if some other cheaters spouses were not as understanding?"

She seems to think about this possibility "OK. We will get them to set up their boards and we will all compare notes to see if we can find common ground in the two murders"

"Perfect" Castle responds

A poignant silence enters the vehicle as they move thru morning traffic

Sitting in his usual passenger seat, Castle feels his fingers being wound around his wife's fingers as they travel thru the streets of New York.

Kate finally smiles across the front toward her husband "I became a little distracted when you came home last night and forgot to ask about you how your game went"

"I lost. The mayor lost and so did the commissioner"

"All three of you were in the hole? Who was the winner then?"

"The mayor brought his recently appointed campaign manager to the game. He is the new head of the mayor's re-election plans. He came from one of the major accounting firms here in town and he has contacts with all the big money people here in the city so Bob decided to bring him inside and have him run the campaign"

Rick pauses for effect "He cleaned us all out"

Beckett lets out a small chuckle "I can only imagine the three of you being taken down by a bean counter"

"He formerly worked for the IRS as an investigator. He could read all of us like an open book and he never once gave any indication as to his hand. He was totally dead pan then entire game"

"You plan on a rematch?" Kate is smiling like a cat chasing a mouse

"I have to. We cannot let him do that and then let it go unanswered. We all want a rematch"

Kate gets a gleam in her eyes "You want me to come to the next game? You know, for support…or I could come as a distraction? I can wear one of my outfits that you like so much? Flirt with everyone. Throw them off guard'

Castle gulps "OH no you don't. As much of a distraction you would be to everyone else, I would not do any better"

Her face lights at his response and he sees an eyebrow rise "Rick? You still find me a distraction?"

"Honestly Kate…If anyone had told me ten years ago that I could feel this way I would not have believed it was possible, but I do"

After a short moment he looks across to his wife "I love you Kate"

"Back at ya"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

They arrive at the 54th a little after 9:00 and head upstairs to the homicide floor to meet with the detectives there

"Hey guys Beckett announces upon her arrival

The two men see her come around the corner arrival "Good morning Captain" Allen Sexton comments

"Tell me you two have all kinds of evidence for us" She comments

"We do have some good stuff" Detective Bryan responds "We have pulled her cell phone and financial records"

"And do they tell a story?" Castle asks

"It tells the story of a woman with a lot…and I mean a LOT of men friends"

Kate looks at Rick "So a lot of men friends!" Turning back to the two detectives "Is there a pattern? I mean does she seem to favor one or another?"

Bryan answers "See seems to circle around. There is one for several weeks or months, then she moves toward another"

Allen continues "And her financials indicate she seems to not buy a lot of meals"

Beckett comments "Like a woman who is being wined and dined by these men?"

"Right"

"So if we follow the money we will find out if the men on her calling list have a number of fancy dinners around the same time" Castle fills in

"Do you have any forensics from her office?" Beckett questions

"Oh YES!" Bryan seems to chuckle "There are dozens of prints in her office. She is an administrator after all, and staff, faculty, and students would frequent the space"

"That's not unusual" Rick states

The two men look at one another and neither seems to not want to make the next statement"

"What is it?" Beckett asks sensing the men are not comfortable in whatever is on their minds

"Captain…" Allen pauses "There were a lot of prints found on her desk"

"OK?" Beckett responds "What is so unusual about that?"

"What was different is where they were found"

"Guys…Where were prints found and why is this so hard to describe?"

The two men look at each other when finally Bryan states "There were men's hand prints on the desk top where our victim was probably lying on the desk and where they probably placed their hands while they were having…"

She finally stops the description "OK I think we get the picture…how many sets of prints were there?"

"At least four…maybe more but the lab is having to sort out a lot of…" again the man is having difficulty giving a good description

"Samples?" Beckett responds with a little disgust in her voice

The two men seem honestly thankful that they did not have to give any more details

"OK guys "Beckett begins "I think we have the picture of what went on in and out of her office. Get together your list of suspects and evidence. We are going to go over to the 12th and get briefed by Ryan and Esposito. After I get their information, I want to set up a conference call between all of us to compare notes"

She looks at her husband "Castle seems to think that both the university president and the coed in the chicken shop were killed by the same person"

The two detectives then look at Castle who comments "She was having an affair with one of the professors who also had been sleeping with Dr. Sellers"

"Do you think a jealous wife did this?" Bryan asks

"There is always the possibility of a jealous woman taking out the competition "Beckett stares at Rick. She thinks she can see his ears start to glow

"But until we can tie all these loose ends together we don't know. What I hope to do is connect all these dots and see if a nice image is revealed"

"You got it boss" Allen comments just like Esposito is known for doing

As Castle and Beckett get into the elevator, he turns to his wife "Kate…you know that I never thought about…I mean I…I wouldn't…"

Kate turns to her husband "That is why you were so glad I texted you about lunch that first day when you went in to her office? You used it to make sure your palm prints did not end up on her desk?"

"Exactly" he responds just as the elevator bell sounds and the doors open in the basement garage

They walk across the floor to her car and just as she opens her door "Too bad I don't know where a storage closet is here at the 54th"

Castle looks across the roof of her cruiser "Why?"

"So I could properly thank you for your faithfulness"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Castle's blood pressure has not settled down yet thinking about what she said wanted to do. He has noticed that she seems more in need of intimacy lately but he is not complaining

As the couple pull into the garage at the 12th, Beckett's cell phone rings "Beckett" she listens for minute "We are in the basement right now. We will be right up"

"What is it?" Castle asks

"That was Ryan. They think they have some video"

"I thought the cameras were not running at the chicken shop at night?"

"THEY weren't, but the video store next door has high resolution cameras that run 24/7. Ryan has them sending over the files right now"


	13. Chapter 13

As the couple arrive on the 4th floor of the 12th precinct they come face to face with Tori, the tech specialist. as she is exiting the computer center

"Hey guys" she begins

"What do you have for me?" Beckett asks

"We have a little problem with the video, but I am working on it"

"What's the problem? Not a good recording?" Beckett asks

"No. The video recording we were given was made using a codex that I don't have a copy to use to decode and look at the image"

"Is that a problem?" Castle questions

"It is when the software was written by the video store owner and he is not willing to just give us a copy. He said he will be happy to sell us one…for a price"

"A large price, I am sure" Beckett responds

"OH yes" Tori explains "He is marketing this as the latest and greatest video codex. He claims it will render all other software obsolete. He says it will even improve older recordings and make them look better"

"But he is not willing to let us see the recording he made or render it unless the department buys a copy of the software?"

"Right" the technical specialist responds

"Alright then" Beckett comments "Castle and I will go over to the store and see how he likes being in discussions about obstruction of justice"

Castle looks at his wife "Can you do that? He wasn't involved in the murder. He is just trying to sell his product"

She looks at her husband "I am not sure how the DA will look at it, but I am going to try"

The pair move to the murder board and as she glances over to the white plastic she speaks to her partners "Before we go see the video store guy, what do you two have?"

Ryan starts out with the financials "She was past broke. She was working for just over minimum wage at the chicken store. She took this job originally to fill in for a little mad money…She was going to school on her daddy's dollar, but then her family cut her off with nothing"

"Do you know why they did that?"

Esposito answers that question "Her father is actually on the board of regents for the school. He found out his daughter was sleeping with one of the professors and told her that it was damaging to his reputation and his responsibility to the school so she had to stop"

"I gather she refused?" Castle asks

Esposito nods his head. "She told her parents she was not going to stop…"

Beckett finishes "And they cut her off."

"Yeah" Ryan continues

Kate looks at Rick "Why would she do that? I mean…a coed sleeping with a professor has never worked out"

Kate gets an evil smile on her face and te look on Castle's face tells her that he is thinking about what they did in his office a few days ago and what he said about it then. She glares toward him "Shut up"

"I didn't say a word"

"Fine!" Kate responds "Look. While Castle and I are at the video store, call Sexton and Bryan over at the 54th and you guys compare notes. I will call you when we get the codex that Tori needs"

As Rick and Kate enter the elevator and the doors close she leans onto his shoulder and lets out a sigh

"What is it?" He asks

He cannot see her smile and she softly answers "Nothing…nothing at all. Just I needed to touch you. That's all"

He wraps his arm around her and holds her tight "Touch all you want"

Kate reaches his arm and gives him a gentle squeeze. When the doors open Beckett begins walking the opposite direction from her cruiser

Castle seems confused "Kate…where are you going?"

She does not answer as she takes out a key and opens the locked storage room door. She turns to her husband and pulls him inside "You remember this room?" she closes the door behind them and locks it

Castle has a definite knowing smile "The day I flew to Dallas for my book signing. We had just been married for a week when I had to leave and we came in here before I flew out"

Beckett's eyebrows rise as she continues the thought "And I didn't want to spend a long time away from you"

"I think that was a mutual feeling…and if I remember correctly we were worried that Gates was going to catch us"

Kate takes her jacket off and wraps her arms around Rick "I have the only key to this closet"

"Really?" Castle can feel his heart race

"Really" she responds

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When they pull up in front of the video store and exit the cruiser, they see the owner of the shop talking to a man in an expensive silk suit

Castle comments as they approach "Lawyer!"

"Yeah. That's what I think as well"

Stepping up to the two men Kate presents her credentials "I am Captain Beckett of the special case squad and this I my associate, Mr. Castle, we are looking for the owner, Sal Marcos"

The man dressed in the silk suite responds "I am Andrew Chapman. I am Mr. Marcos' attorney. And just to let you know, I have advised my client to not answer any of your questions"

Beckett was not expecting this type response at the moment. She is beginning to believe there may be something else going on than just the store owner holding out for money

"Mr. Chapman, are you aware that your client has information critical to our investigation…our MURDER investigation? And he refuses to release it to us?"

"I now my client owns some intellectual property that he wishes to protect his rights over"

"We are NOT interested in his intellectual property. We only want the video evidence that he is refusing to turn over"

"Captain. My client has, in fact, turned over a copy of the recording of the evidence in question"

"He has turned over a worthless recording while at the same time being able to provide a view able image"

"As I said, Captain. He has turned over the recording. The ability to view the recording is dependent on other factors"

"What other factors?"

"He is the owner of a specific program that is required to view the recordings. He simply wants what is due to him for developing the software. My client has spent thousands of hours in writing the code for his software. He cannot just release it to anyone without getting proper remuneration"

Kate is not pleased where this conversation is going "Mr. Chapman, your client is…or rather was considered a material witness. Now however, his refusal to give us the evidence makes me believe we might need to change his status from witness to person of interest. Is that what you want? Because if it is, I will be going to get a subpoena to compel your client to release the software and in court, us having to force the data flies will probably weigh heavy on the jury"

"Captain Beckett we need to keep this civil" Andrew Chapman responds

"I began this interview very civil, yet your client's actions make me believe there is more to look into with him. Is that what you want?"

The owner of the store is beginning to not like what is being said by Beckett "Wait a minute captain" he looks at the attorney "Andy, this is not working" he looks back at Kate "listen I will give you the software, Andy here is an old college friend who told me that I could use this my advantage. By giving my software an advertising boost. You know, having the police need my program…great advertising. And free"

Beckett is glad this made the man understand

"Let me get a copy for you" he rushes back into his office

Beckett is looking at the Attorney "Mr. Chapman, I strongly suggest you pick your battles better. You made Sal look guilty instead of a talented software programmer

"Yes ma'am" he responds

"Understand, that by him providing a high quality video image will be well reported by the press. I am sure he will find his program in high demand"

He looks down "Yes ma'am" Chapman states just as Sal exits the office holding a CD and gives it to Beckett

"Thank you Mr. Marcos. The NYPD appreciates your assistance in this case "Her and Castle leave the store and walk back toward the cruiser

Just as they turn the proprietor of the beauty shop supply company on the other side of the chicken store rushes out her door "Are you the police?"

"Yes. Can I help you?" Kate responds

"I heard about the girl killed the other morning"

"Do you have some information that might help us?" Castle asks

"Well, I don't know it this might be important, but my security company sent me an e-mail about an alarm trigger that happened that morning. It was not an entry, it was just a sound trip. Something happened loud enough to alert the monitoring company but it was not loud enough to be an entry and they had no motion or door trips. That is why they didn't call it to the police"

Beckett is very interested "Can you get a copy of that audio?"

"Yes, they sent it to me in an e-mail, I made a copy" The woman hands a flash drive to Beckett

"Thank you." Kate comments

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back at the 12th, Kate and Rick are heading toward Tori's area with the software package and the flash drive containing the audio from the security at the beauty shop

When they enter the room Beckett hands over the Cd and flash drive to the technical specialist.

"Let me know what you find. I hope the audio recording gives us a voice and with the video we get an image to go with it"

"I will see what I can do" Tori turns to the computers and begins her work

Back in the bull pen Beckett and Castle enter while the other two detectives are on the phone with the two detectives from the 54th

The voice of detective Sexton can be heard "we were able to separate the majority of fingerprints and determine the newest set"

Ryan asks "Whose it the most recent?"

The answer does not really surprise anyone at this time "It was Professor Jordan Bailey. His were the most recent and CSU seems to believe they were probably from the morning she was murdered"

Beckett looks at Castle as he comments "Maybe Bailey or his wife were not as open in the marriage as they claimed"

"I think we need to bring him in and his wife and do a little more interrogation" Beckett responds as she looks at Esposito

"Got it boss" he responds "We will go pick her up"

The voice of detective Bryon comes from the other end of the line "He should be in class right now and we will pick up him at the school"

"Great everyone. Keep me informed when you bring them in"

After the two men leave the floor, Kate looks at Rick "Infidelity in a marriage never works…even if they claim their relationship is open…jealousy will always come to the surface"

Castle takes his wife's hand. "That is why I would never stray"

She glances at the linked fingers then a smile crawls up her face then she looks up to her husband "That's good because I do carry a gun"

At this moment Tori rushes out of her room "Kate…you need to hear and see what I found"

Beckett and Castle get up and walk to the conference room. Tori seems very happy with the information she has to provide

"First off, the quality of the video is absolutely phenomenal. I have never seen a picture this clear, but not knowing the time of death I was going to have to watch possibility hours but…the audio gave me a time stamp"

"So you know what happened?"

"The audio is muffled due to the walls in between the stores but I could tell it was two women arguing. I ran the recording through a noise gate to change the noise floor and some digital suppression then ran the signal through a 1/32th octave EQ that changed the equalization to eliminate the background noises in very tight width, then I…"

"Tori, we know that you are the best. What did you get?"

"I was able to retrieve the words but by changing so many of the parameters the audio is not true to the voices"

"So what was being said?" Rick asks

"Woman number 1 was yelling at woman number 2 that she wanted her to stop sleeping with Jordan and woman 2 said she would not stop that she loved him and was happy. Woman 1 said he was just using Blair for sex from a coed. More yelling took place then I heard a scream and the sound that I think is Blair falling into the cooker"

"OK. You can't tell who the killer was by the audio but…?"

"I tied the audio time code to the video and this is who walked out front of the video store just seconds later"

The image of a woman crosses the camera and Kate and Rick both gasp in disbelief

Beckett makes the only remark "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That's who killed Blaire Collins?"


	14. Chapter 14

All four at the 12th precinct and the two detectives at the 54th are on a video conference reviewing the evidence that Tori was just able to recover. Plastered on the white board and also electronically duplicated to the men at the 54th precinct is the screen capture of the killer. A tall professional woman wearing business suit and moving quickly away from the scene of the crime

Beckett is conducting the electronic meeting "OK guys, we now know who killed Blaire Collins, but now we need to know who killed the killer"

Esposito remarks first "From what Tori was able to recover from the audio file Dr. Sellers was at the store to confront Blair for having an affair with Jordan Bailey but why would Dr. Sellers murder Blaire?"

"From the audio it sounded like it was a in a fit of passion. They argued and Sellers probably just reacted. She grabbed a bottle and hit Blair not meaning to kill her but dropping her into the tank" Ryan responds

Looking at Beckett "Yeah and instead of checking on the condition of the young woman, she left the crime scene and returned to the university where she had appointments with her lover and your husband "Esposito comments while glaring toward Castle

Kate gives Javier a death glare "She had an anointment and welcomed Castle to the school before she met with Bailey"

"I'll BET she welcomed him"

"JAVI!"

"Sorry, Beckett" the Hispanic detective looks at Castle "Did you notice anything unusual when you met with her that morning?"

Castle seems to think for just a minute "You know when she took her jacket off I noticed a stain on the sleeve. I wonder if that was from the cooking oil?"

Kate looks to Rick "Took her jacket off?" expanding on the word took

"Yes. She took her jacket off and hung it on the rack, then sat down on the couch next to me"

"Oh, so you two were on the couch?" Kate asks

"That is just moments before you texted me about lunch and I rushed out of there"

Castle can see her look soften. She knows how faithful he is to her, but she does love to tease him whenever he opens that door to let her run through

"OK! Let's assume she met with Bailey after you were there" Beckett comments as she is looking at the local murder board and the screen containing the images of the other two detectives.

These two other detectives at the 54th have no idea about the details of the relationship of the four people at the 12th and are not sure what to say after the exchange that just took place

"Let's look at the events…" Castle starts up "Bailey comes to see her entering through the secret door"

Beckett: "They have a little fun on the furniture"

Castle: "He leaves his hand prints on her desk"

Beckett: He leaves the office without anyone knowing what happened"

Castle: "It was too soon for him to become suspicious of her involvement with killing Blair or anything else she might have been involved with"

Beckett: "It was several days later before I came to the school…"

Ryan gets a questioning look on his face "Why did you go by the school?"

She looks at Ryan "UH…I… just to…"

Castle answers "She came to see if I wanted lunch"

"What he said" she responds quickly

Ryan quips "So you went to the school to grab something for lunch" causing Castle to cough "Then what happened

"We were in Castle's office and Sellers came in and invited him…us to a dinner party at her house that night"

"So that is when you first met the other players in this little game?" Esposito asks

Beckett answers "That night, at the dinner party all the other women were ranting about their husband's infidelity"

"Beckett, didn't you say one of the women was adamant that her husband was being unfaithful while the others didn't seem to care?"

"Yes…Michele Best went on and on that her husband, Rod, was having an affair because he was gone a lot of time that he could not or would not explain"

Ryan then comments "Maybe he was also involved with the school president"

Esposito responds "We need to bring them in and ask what they know about the murder" He looks at the video link talking to the other detectives "Can you two handle that?"

Detective Sexton responds "We will get on that as soon as this meeting is over"

Beckett looks at the board again "so to summarize, we have the same suspects as before, Jordan Bailey and his wife June…"

Ryan interrupts "Except they both had alibies for the time of the murder"

Beckett responds "I think we need to recheck that"

Esposito then comments "and now we have Michele Best and her husband Rod"

"If he was also having an affair with the victim…his wife might be our killer. Didn't you say that CSU has prints not yet identified?" Castle comments

"Yes. They are not in the criminal database or any other databases we have" Tori answers

Beckett looks at her team "OK. Castle and I will go to Dr. Sellers home and see if we can find anything that might help there, while Ryan and Esposito re-look into June and Jordan Bailey. Sexton and Bryan will pick up Rod and Michele Best and see what they can learn from them.

The teams all head out to accomplish their respective tasks

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When the elevator doors close Beckett leans into Rick once more

"Kate, I promise you that…"

"Babe, I trust you implicitly. You do not need to say anything. I love you and I know you love me…that's all that matters"

He is still wondering why she has become so clingy. This is so not like her.

When they arrive at the home of the school president, they enter the house that has been secured for evidence gathering.

The duo don evidence gloves and proceed to examine their surroundings

"Castle, will you check the closet and see if you can find the suit she was wearing the day you met with her? See if there is still a stain on the sleeve? We will send it to the lab"

"Got it" he responds

Beckett goes into the office and looks around the desk and credenza. She spends several minutes looking over the contents of each drawer when she finally pull open the side where she is startled to find a note written on a sheet of school stationary

It reads "Stop or you will pay dearly"

"RICK" Kate yells out just as her husband enters the room

"What?"

"OH! She looks up startled that his is there "Look at this" she hands the page over to him "I looks like someone did not like her activities"

"Looks like a threat to me" Castle responds

"Did you find the clothes?"

"No. The outfit she was wearing was not in the closet"

"She probably threw it away. Getting rid of evidence" Beckett remarks

"I don't know. It looked like a very expensive outfit"

At this moment Beckett notices the answering machine contains some messages. She presses the play button and begins playing the saved messages. The fist is a telemarketer offering to clean her carper. They have a special this week

The second message is more important "This is Zack at Metro Cleaners…about your suit coat. We have tried everything to remove the stains but have not been able to get it done. Call or come by and let us know what you want us to do. Bye" and the call disconnects

"That explains why we can't find the clothes she was wearing that day…" Beckett starts up

Castle finishes "She took them to the cleaners"

Beckett finishes "We need to go down there and pick up the evidence"

Castle uses *69 to call the cleaners back. When the man answers he asks for the address

The two leave the house and head just a few block away to pick up the evidence waiting for them

On the way back down to the lab to drop off the clothes Kate takes Ricks

After checking the evidence into the lab Castle and Beckett are back in her cruiser

Fingers wrapped together again Kate remarks "I am so ready to go home"

Castle is looking out the window "Yeah, me too"

Again she tightens her fingers into his and then she puts on an evil grim "NO. My dad picked up Jimmy and Alexis has a late class. No one is there and I mean I am really ready to go home" and she squeezes his fingers

Gulp

* * *

 **Please stay with me everyone. It is becomong harder to write these stories especially since the reader's numbers have dropped so dramatically, but I will finish this one soon**


	15. Chapter 15

To say that Richard Castle and his lovely wife, Kate Beckett are slow rising this morning is an understatement. Neither one really wants to get up but they know it is absolutely necessary to do so

When Castle finally manages to make himself presentable to the rest of the family, he exits their bedroom and moves slowly toward the kitchen

Rick stumbles himself into the cooking area to get breakfast ready for his clan. Once he gets the coffee started, the very aroma of freshly roasted Columbian beans begins to bring his addled brain closer to reality

Just as he gets the bacon started and the eggs broken and whipped for morning scrambles or omelets two other members of the family appear on the landing

Alexis and Jimmy are running down the stairs trying to beat each other to the table

"Hey dad" Alexis remarks as she enters the kitchen and finds her father just getting the omelets started

"Hi daddy" Jimmy also remarks while looking around "where's mommy?"

A weak voice comes from behind them "Right hear big guy" Kate answers her son as she herself stumbles into the room as if she were on a ship trying to walk

"Mom you look tired. Did you sleep well? "Alexis asks

Trying to suppress a yawn, Beckett responds "Oh yeah" she looks at Rick "we were up kind of late last night"

"I didn't see your light on when we came home"

Castle tries to cover "We…uh…we had just the reading light on"

It is obvious that Alexis is no dummy when she grins and replies "Oh…I see"

Sitting at the counter "Hey dad, can I have an omelet with cheese and a slice of bacon?"

"Sure pumpkin" he turns toward Jimmy "and what does the young man of the house want?"

"Uh, just a bowl of flakes with sugar"

Beckett responds "Not this early young man. You need a better breakfast than that if you want to grow up to be big like daddy"

A frown crosses the youngest Castle's face "OK. Egg…you know where you can see the yellow in the middle but not runny…yuck"

"Got it. Cooked hard…not runny" Castle responds as he sets the pan out and cracks an egg open and begins cooking and over hard egg

"How was your night with grandpa?" Kate asks

"He was fun…we watches Aladdin and played shoot and ladders and then he told me a story"

Kate looks at Jimmy "What story did he tell you?"

"He told me more of the story of the fair maiden and her prince in the castle"

Rick and Kate look at one another. They both know the story but had not talked about it going anywhere further

"What did he add to the story?" Castle asks

"He told me that after the prince married the damsel they had a little boy…like me, who ran around and played with all the other children in the village"

Kate thinks her dad did well "That sounds like a good addition to the story"

"It is" he is trying to talk while eating "but I asked grandpa to do something"

"What did you ask him?" Castle wonders

"I told him it would be nice if the boy had a little brother or sister to play with like the other little boys and girls in the town"

It was not a good thing that both Rick and Kate had food in their mouths when he asked that question. It did cause a little extra cleanup to happen this morning

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

On their way to the 54th precinct, neither husband nor wife comments about the statement from their son. Instead the conversation immediately moves toward the current suspects Rod Best and his wife Michele.

"According to the information Detective Sexton has found, Rod Best has been going to the university early and staying late several times a week" Beckett starts up in the conversation. He very well might be having an affair with Sellers"

Castle finishes the thought "We need to get his prints and see if they match any of the unknowns from her desk"

"Detective Bryan has already got a subpoena for his prints and when he comes in they will take them and compare to the latent prints from her desk"

"OK" Castle responds

The car goes silent until the duo reach the 54th station

When they arrive at the desks of the other two detectives Beckett starts "did you get a match on the prints yet?"

Roland Bryan answers "No. They are NOT a match to any unknowns we have"

"What about his wife. Did you take her prints?"

Allen Sexton answers that "No. We didn't have to. She works for her church and they do complete background checks on their employees including a criminal check that requires fingerprints be taken before employment at the church. We were able to pull those records. Her prints were not found inside the office either"

Bryan makes a statement that brings everyone to a halt "The note you found in the victim's home, the threat…"

"The one that was on school stationary?" Beckett asks

"Yes. That one. It was written on typewriter"

"A typewriter" Castle seems surprised "Not printed on a computer?"

"No…and it not one of the most modern machines with the letters on a rotating ball. This was one using a cloth ribbon and individual letter arms"

"So if we find the machine that wrote the letter…?" Castle asks

Beckett answers "we will probably find our killer. Do you know where and who have old typewriters?"

"But I do remember that there was an old manual typewriter at the church office when we picked up Michele Best. It was sitting on the credenza behind her desk"

"So we have a unit to test. We need to go ahead and get a warrant to test the typewriter. Just to make sure we keep the chain of evidence clean" Beckett responds to the information.

She then looks toward the interrogation room "Is she in the one who is in there?" she points

"This is Michele Best. She has been waiting for an hour. I think we have given her enough time to think about where she fits in all of this" Bryan responds

"OK guys. Castle and I will go in there, you two watch from observation and makes notes. If you think about something you want asked, send me a text"

"Got it" Sexton responds as he and his partner move to the room adjacent to where Beckett and Castle enter

Once the door opens and closes Beckett can tell that Michele is not comfortable in her surroundings "What is this all about Kate?"

As the couple sit down Beckett responds "This is an official conversation so I think that we need to keep this professional. I am Captain Beckett for the sake of this situation for the time being"

The woman is obviously not happy as to where this is going "OK CAPTIAN BECKETT! What do you need to ask me?"

"The other evening you said you thought your husband was having an affair?"

"That is what I said. He leaves home early and comes home late. So, YES I think he is sleeping with someone"

"Do you think it was Dr. Sellers?"

The woman seems a little shocked at the question "I…I don't know. I never thought of her but that would make sense. She is at the school and so was my husband"

The tome from Michele indicates she definitely does not believe his absence from home is purely innocent

Beckett continues her questioning "Michele, we found a typewriter at your office at the church"

"Yes. So?"

"We found a threatening letter at Dr. Seller's home written using a conventional typewriter. We have officers going there right now with a warrant and we will be testing the machine for a match to the letter"

Michele chuckles a little "You think I typed a threat using THAT typewriter? That will be hard to do"

"Why do say that?" Castle responds

"Because that machine was flooded during Tropical Storm Sandy. It is rusted solid. None of the keys even function anymore. We talked about having it restored, but the cost was too much to spend for a piece of office equipment we will never use again"

This piece of information completely breaks Beckett's chain of questioning. She regroups "Just because the typewriter was not used does not change the possibility that you murdered Dr. Sellers"

Michele Best smiles across the table to Beckett and Castle "The only problem with me murdering her is the fact I was at a church administrator's convention in Alabama for three days including the morning she was found murdered"

The pair walk out of the interrogation room and come face to face with the two dwetectives from the 54th

"So she has an iron clad alibi" Detective Sexton remarks

Beckett looks directly at the mam "I need you two to verify her story and make sure she really was at a convention during the time of the murder"

"Got it Sexton replies

Castle and Beckett are looking at the duplicate murder board when Castle asks "do we know where we can find another old fashioned typewriter?"

Beckett continues "I mean is there any at the school?"

"They do have a history of the school display in the library. It contains a lot of old items that the school had once used including an old telephone, an adding machine, index card files…I wonder if they also have an old machine" Bryan remarks

"AND an old typewriter according to the web page about the schools' history" Sexton answers pointing at an image of the display with an old typewriter in the center of the picture

"We need to request to test the unit" Beckett comments "We need to get permission from, the school"

"Got it Captain" Bryan remarks

"And what about Rod Best? We need to get him in here and ask him about his long days at the school and what he is doing there early and late" Beckett responds

"We have uniforms picking him up right now. They are bringing him in after his class He should be here in about two hours"

Castle looks at his watch "OK. It's lunch time. Kate and I will go grab a burger and will be back in time for the interview"

The Castles walk into the elevator and as the doors close, Kate leans into Rick's shoulder again and lets out a soft moan "Do we have to grab lunch?" she smiles at his face "I would like to grab something else instead"

GULP


	16. Chapter 16

The captain and her husband are moving a little slowly as they exit the elevator at the 54th and move across the floor toward Detectives Sexton and Byron

"Hey you two…how was lunch?" Sexton asks while looking at these two with suspicion

"Uh…it was very…" Castle starts to answer the Beckett finishes "Satisfying"

She looks around the room "Did you pick up Bailey?" she asks trying to move the conversation off their lunch break back to the case

"He's in interrogation room 2" Sexton responds as he points toward the end of the hall

Beckett drops her bag on the desk she is currently using and looks in the direction of the room "Castle and I will go in there. Again, if you two watch and let us know of any questions you want asked"

Sexton and Bailey both know there will probably not be any questions for them to add. It is very evident that his woman knows all the questions needed to be asked before she even meets a suspect.

Beckett and Castle enter the room and the door closes behind them

The man looks at the two entering and knows that they are not there to remark on the fine dinner they had the other evening at the president's home

"Professor Bailey. Do you know why you are here?"

"I am sure you are looking for information about the death of Dr. Sellers"

As she drops her pad down Beckett responds "That is correct" she opens her notebook and looks at the first page "You knew our victim well, correct?"

"Yes. I have known her ever since she came to the school. I am tenured at the university and have seen a couple of presidents over the years"

"Are you aware of her escapades with men including other facility members?" Beckett questions

The man looks down to the table "Yes" looking back up "Everyone knows. Her indiscretions and conquests are well known among the male staff…and to the distaste of the females as well"

"So are you one of her trophies?"

"No"

"Are you sure?" Castle remarks "She was a beautiful woman. Easy to get to know" Rick suddenly feels his wife's eyes burning into his neck, then he tries to finish his statement "it would have been easy to fall victim to her spell"

"I am sure" the man replies while sweat seems to begin on his forehead "But I did not"

Kate moves her stare off her husband and back to the suspect, then comments "So you were not tempted by her charms?" she then looks back in Castle's direction once more as if asking him as well

"No. Absolutely not! I love my wife and would never cheat on her"

Castle remarks "Me either" He then looks at Kate who seems to have put an evil smile on her face

She then shifts back to her badass mode "So where have you been going several times a week, if not to see the woman?"

"Uh…how did you hear about that?"

"We have information that you have been coming to the school early and staying late several days each week and it looks very suspicious"

The man looks down at the desk top and pauses several heartbeats before answering "I am been tutoring. Teaching extra classes…to earn some extra money"

"Tutoring?" Beckett questions. That was not what she expected as an answer

"Yes. I teach a few extra classes each week to earn money for something special"

"What something special are you working toward?" Castle asks

"Promise you won't tell my wife!"

"Mr. Bailey, it all depends on what it is. If this is something we need to verify, she will probably find out"

He glances around the room as if looking for an escape "Our 25th anniversary is coming up and she has always had her heart set on a trip to Hawaii and I couldn't afford the nice trip she wants, so I have been working extra teaching jobs to earn the money so we can go. I am almost there. You can check with the travel agent"

Shifting gears once more Beckett changes her questioning "Do you know of anyone in the staff or facility of the school that still owns an old style typewriter?"

That question definitely caught Bailey off guard. He thinks for a minute then answers, but he definitely does not want to give a response "There is an old typewriter at my wife's church. In fact it sits on the credenza immediately behind her desk…why?"

"That is not the one we are looking for. Do you know of another one?"

This time he seems to think very hard "The only other one I am aware of is at the school library. It is in the display case of old office equipment the school once used. In fact that is a very, very old one. I think from over seventy-five years ago, around the war. In fact the curator thinks it had something to do with World War 2"

"OK Professor Bailey. We will be verifying your story about the trip to Hawaii and if it is true, we will make sure your wife does not find out, but you do know she thinks you were having an affair with Dr. Sellers…and that is why you come to the school so early and left late"

"I know, but I was planning on telling her next week because I have almost all the money I need to pay off the trip"

Castle looks at the man and feels that his story is true "I am sure she will forgive you when she finds out what you have really been up to, but don't wait too long to tell her"

"I won't" he responds as Beckett stands and tells him that he can leave

Back in the squad room Beckett and Castle have rejoined the two detectives "Well that is a surprise" Sexton remarks. "I was sure he was fooling around"

Bailey adds "It had all the ear marks of an affair"

"Yes it did" Rick comments "I just goes to prove that men can be faithful to their wives even when they look guilty" He looks at Kate who has not even acknowledged his remark, but he believes he can see a tiny upturn of her lips

"OK guys, let's contact Ryan and Esposito. They were going to interview Blaire Collins father to see if he can shed any light on this case"

Beckett calls the 12th on the video conference unit. When the phone answers they see the face of Kevin Ryan

"Hey Ryan…has anyone looked at the typewriter at the school?"

"Just got the report back from forensics. It is not the unit used to type the note, but they say it seems to be the same model, just not the exact one"

"So it is still probably one that came from the school. Have you looked to see if there are anymore out there?"

"Yeah. I talked to the asset clerk. She remembers them disposing of a large number of them back about 20 years ago when they started using computers almost exclusively. She said she doesn't remember where most of them went, but the last one was the one at the history display in the library"

"Well keep digging. Did you get anything helpful from Blaire's father?"

"As a meter of fact, yes" Ryan looks at his notes "Blair Collins had admitted to her dad that she was having an affair with Bailey and she knew he was also seeing Sellers, but he told Blair he was only doing it to protect his job and she believed him"

"Women will believe about anything their men tell them" Beckett remarks "But obviously he was just dragging her along"

"Yes. And her father tried to tell her to stop and she wouldn't and he told her that he would stop her support and he would see to it that the other, behind the scenes, activities would be halted"

"How was he going to stop the other?" Castle asks

"It seems the Blair Collins' father is on the board of regents of the university and they had already been looking into the little Peyton Place they had going on there and working on a solution to the activities"

"What kind of solution?"

"He said that the Board of Regents were meeting in closed session about that and the lawyers told them to not disclose what they had been planning"

Castle looks at Beckett "I wonder if the solution included the removal of the president"

Bryan finishes the thought "With extreme prejudice?"

"I am sure the board never discussed murder" Sexton responds,

Castle gets a funny look on his face

"What is it Castle?" Kate asks

"What if the board didn't do it but one of the board members?"

"Good question" She responds "He would have to have a typewriter to send the note"

"And I know who would likely have one"

Beckett gets a knowing look on her face that she realizes she knows also "Then let's go talk to him"

She looks at the two detectives then hand them a note "Get a search warrant for this person's home…specifically looking for and old typewriter of the same that the school used and we will be back in the morning"

Castle and Beckett step into the elevator. Castle is worried about a conversation he knows he needs to have with his wife "Kate…listen"

She turns toward Castle and takes a hold of his face with both hands "NO you listen…" a smile crawls up her face "I just love having more ammunition to torture you with"

"Oh,just torture? Huh? No punishment?"

She puts on her most sultry look and gets right to his lips "Naked Punishment"

Gulp


	17. Chapter 17

Getting up, it seems, is becoming more difficult for both Rick and Kate. Especially after their back to back, late night escapades along with an early morning tryst

One thing Kate said to Rick about punishing's is actually coming back to haunt her as well She is also struggling to rise and get dressed herself

As she walks, or more accurately, stumbles out of the dressing area, Castle in entering from the living room. He remarks as he sees her "Are you still meeting Lanie for some 'dinner and girl time later. Right?'

She is just finishing buttoning her blouse "Yeah… we haven't done this in months. Why? Is there a problem with me being gone?" She asks

"No, of course not! You and she have been friends for so long. I would never consider getting in between you two. That would be very dangerous to my health" What he actually means is her staying around for more activities might be dangerous to his health

She walks up closer and puts her arms around her husband "You got that right, mister" Then she give him a quick kiss "I love you"

"Back at ya" her answers as she pulls back from him and grabs her jacket

"I won't be too late"

"You have fun and tell Lanie I said hi"

She looks aback over her shoulder "We will"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When Kate reaches North Corner Bistro she enters and immediately goes looking for her best friend. She sees Lanie sitting at a corner table near a window

"Hey girlfriend" Lanie remarks as soon as Kate is in earshot

"Hi" Beckett responds and she drops her bag in the adjacent chair "Have you ordered yet?"

"Just my wine while waiting for you"

The server approaches the table to take the orders

"Do you want some wine?" Lanie asks

"No, just water for me"

The server walks away to get Kate's drink

"So Kate, how are you and big writer boy and little writer boy and big sister all getting along?"

Kate smiles "Just great…actually phenomenal"

"Well you look phenomenal. In fact you seem to be glowing"

Kate's expression tells it all as she puts on a happy smile. Kate then continues to answer the question about her home life "Oh. I just had quite a shock come from Alexis the other day"

"What was that?" Lanie questions just as the server arrives to drop the drinks and take the meal order

Lanie orders a seafood salad and Beckett gets the fruit salad with a selection of cheeses

After the server walks off Kate answers the question

"Alexis called me mom the other day"

"What? That is fabulous! That is so great that big sister considers you like her own mother along with Jimmy?"

"Yes it is Lanie. She made me feel so special"

"You mean like her father makes you feel special?"

Kate ducks her head and lets her hair cover her embarrassment

"Kate I know how much you have changed that former playboy. He would still be chasing top heavy women and getting his picture plastered all over page 6, but you do know you are the real reason he settled down?"

Kate has never been the one to accept compliments of this nature but today she does

"Thanks Lanie. But I think he changed me even more"

"That would be hard to do girlfriend"

"Oh I don't know. He was always attentive to me. Brought me coffee and pastries for so many years with no expectation of anything more"

"Yeah and when he finally decided that you were worth so much more than that Joy Mason woman from the Hamptons and look where that brought you"

Beckett smiles at the remark of her friend

"That is a name I have not heard in several years now" she actually giggles a little with the response "Castle and I had a standing joke about her. When I was pregnant with Jimmy, my boobs swelled up and I told him I was going to try and keep them since Joy was so proud of hers"

"I remember that. You actually had to come to work without a bra because you didn't have one to fit"

"True"

"What did he say about that?"

"He said he likes me just like I am"

"Sounds like you need to just go with that, then"

"Oh I will. Not much I can do to change anything except get pregnant again"

"Speaking of which…when are you planning another little one?"

Lanie is not sure but she thinks she can see a little red around Kate's ears

"We have not talked about it in a few months…but Jimmy threw us both off center the other night when he asked about a little brother or sister"

"Kate that would be so cool. I can be an auntie again"

Kate looks down at the table then back up to her best friend "We might do that soon"

"That would be great"

Their meals arrive and they begin with bites of food intermixed with more conversation

"How about you and Javi?" Kate asks "Are you two still at arm's length or are you to close again?"

Lanie stops in mid bite "Oh we just drift in and out…mostly out, but understand we don't have what you two have…in fact, I don't think anyone has what you have Kate. Everyone that sees you two knows how much he loves you and the look on your face when he is gone and you are missing him is so evident"

Softly Kate responds "I know Lanie. He does love me and I do love him…like I never thought was possible after my mother was killed"

Another bite of dinner and "I am still amazed by the little things he does for me. A rose on the nightstand for no reason. My favorite coffee waiting for me, on my desk in the morning, even if he is out of town on a book tour. And when he is home, a note beside my coffee at breakfast. If he notices me looking at a blouse or pair of pants, they suddenly appear on the bed"

"Kate, look at what you give to him"

"Nothing to compare with that"

"Kate Beckett. You are the most intelligent woman I have ever met. And a great detective with all the extras that brings. You give all that to him for his books"

Beckett just smiles

"And not to mention that you are one hot momma with those long legs of yours. And let's face it, men are visual creatures. All you have to do is show him a little skin and I bet he just melts"

"I have done a few things to keep him distracted sometimes"

"Oh girlfriend. You are still a tease"

Kate whispers "With my husband? Yeah…every chance I get"

"So Beckett. On another subject, how is that double murder going? I heard that Dr. Sellers was the murderer of Blaire Collins and then she was murdered"

"Yes. We got video and audio that proved Dr. Sellers was at the chicken shop at the time of the murder and we found cooking oil stains from the chicken store on the jacket she was wearing that morning"

"Well. Any suspects on Sellers case? Or any other evidence?"

"We went through about every suspect on the list and they all have alibis. And solid ones at that"

"Where do you go now?" Lanie is wondering

"The once piece of evidence we do have is a typewritten note threatening Sellers if she doesn't stop her escapades with all the men professors on campus"

"That sounds like an enticing clue. How many typewriters that could have been used have you found so far?"

A couple but they were not the exact unit. But we do know that the note was written on a machine from the mid twentieth century. CSU has pinned it down to a particular model that was originally bought by the military during World War 2 and later sold as military surplus in the late 1940's"

"Well there can't be a lot of those still around?"

"No. In fact they traced a larger purchase made at auction to a buyer right here in New York"

"Really? Who?"

"Ballard University bought 50 units"

"From what we can tell, they have since replace all of them with computers and disposed of all but two"

"Where are they?"

"One is in the school library on display. But it is not the one that wrote the note"

"And the other one?"

Kate smiles to her friend "It is at the home of the Lawrence Crawford. He is the Chancellor of the university and the grandson of the school's founder. We did hear that the board of trustees was working on a way to fix the problem of a wandering president"

"The Chancellor might have a good motive to fix the problem in a more aggressive manor" Lanie remarks

"That's what we believe" Kate takes her last bite of dinner

* * *

 **AH. It looks like we may be coming close to a conclusion to this one**

 **OR ARE WE?**


	18. Chapter 18

The loft is mostly dark when Kate enters the door. A single light is left on in the living room for her.

She removes her coat and hangs it up in the closet just inside the door and then removes her boots so the clicking of her heels on the hardwood floors will not disturb any of the household members if they are asleep or almost so

She carries her boots with her as she moves toward the bedroom door. As she approaches she can tell the bed is not been slept in and the bedside stand light is on dimly.

When she enters and looks into the study, she sees her guy with his laptop on his lap and his ear buds in the ears typing away on his next great story.

She proceeds to the closet where she deposits her weapon in the safe and removes her clothes from today. After going into the bathroom and removing what little makeup she wears she returns to the closet to select her sleeping apparel for tonight.

After thinking about what Lanie had said about men being visual creatures, she selects a very sheer and very short gown to wear for the evening. She looks at the woman in the mirror and actually smiles to herself. Just like her best friend said…she does have beautiful long legs. And now she is planning on using them to entice her man to come on to bed

When she steps back and looks through the door of the study, he is no longer there. This is when she hears the bedroom door close and lock

She spins around causing the gown she is wearing to flare at the legs exposing even more of her long limbs

Her husband walks slowly towards her with a smile on his face and his eyes drifting up and down her barely covered body

"How do you do that?" he comments

"Do what?" she answers

"You know what…drive me absolutely crazy"

She drops her head letting her hair fall softly across her face "Lucky I guess?"

"If you are that lucky, I need to make sure to let you pick the next lottery ticket" he wraps her into his embrace

"How was dinner?" he asks

"Fun" Kate says into her husband's neck. Then whispers into his eat "but not as much fun as being home is going to be"

He slides his hands lower down her body and feels her react as she starts pushing him to the edge of the bed

GULP

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Morning brings Castle and Beckett to the 54th and into the presence of Detectives Sexton and Byron

Roland Bryan starts the conversation "We got the warrant to test the typewriter at Mr. Crawford's residence and it is a match"

Castle seems pleased at the results "Great. Now we have a solid lead"

"We know the typewriter wrote the note, but that still does not give us enough to charge Crawford with the murder"

Sexton adds "Yeah. Anyone in the house could have written the note using the machine"

Beckett continues the thought "Whoever did it probably did not think we would ever think of looking at the Crawford house"

"If he had not told us at Dr. Sellers' diner party about his grandmother starting the university and his penchant for keeping relics from the past, we would have never known about him having the old typewriter" Castle finishes "he said he had a room dedicated to old historical equipment from the university"

Beckett looks to the two detectives "Where is Crawford"

"Interrogation one" Sexton replies pointing in the direction of the boxes

She looks at Castle and smiles "Ready to go close this one?"

"Right behind you" he answers

The two enter the interrogation room and close the door

Beckett begins with her usual attack "Mr. Crawford. Do you know why you are here?"

"No. But I assume it has something to do with the illegal search warrant served on me yesterday and the removal of several antique objects from my home"

"Mr. Crawford, the warrant was very legal and the items removed were part of our investigation into the death of Dr. Sellers"

"What does a room full of historical artifacts have to do with Margaret's death?"

"Are you the Chancellor of Ballard University?"

"Of course I am. You already knew that"

"And as Chancellor, you are responsible for many aspects of the school? Correct?"

"Again, yes"

"And I believe you were aware of Dr. Sellers' indiscretions?"

"Again yes"

Beckett looks at her notes "Do you recall a meeting of the board of regents where it was discussed dealing with her little extracurricular activities?"

He pauses for a moment before answering "That was discussed in an executive session. How did you hear about that?"

"I will be asking the questions here. Do you recall that conversation?"

"Yes"

"And I believe you came up with a suggestion to have her removed from the office?"

"That was the consensus of the board…yes"

Castle asks the next question "And what method did you plan to use to remove her?"

He pauses once more before answering

In the meantime the two other detectives watching in awe. Sexton comments first "I would hate to be across and interrogation table from that woman"

"I would hate to be a criminal in the same building with her. I think she can smell a suspect from a block away"

Back in the interrogation room, Castle and Beckett are waiting for the answer

"Mr. Crawford…answer the question. How were you planning on removing the university president?" Beckett asks

He looks at his hands for a moment "We were going to offer to buy her out of her contract"

Castle seems surprised at this answer. "You were going to buy her out?

"Yes" He seems to not understand why castle asked this question "We had worked out the numbers it would probably take to buy her out of her contract"

"What did she say when you presented it to her?" Beckett questions

"I never had a chance to present the offer from the board. The morning I had an appointment scheduled to meet with her and give her our proposal, she was found murdered. So, No she never saw it"

Beckett is not deterred from her questioning "I am sure the numbers were substantial?"

The Chancellor seems uncomfortable "I would not really care to disclose the figures"

Castle has his interest tempted by this revolution "Were the numbers more than the school could afford?"

Crawford snaps his head up with a definite look of concern on his face "Uh…well…yes…it was a very large number. One that we would have to pay off over several years. We didn't have the cash to give her immediately"

Beckett is not deterred from her path "So Mr. Crawford…the school could not afford to pay her off and so you went to her office, snuck ion thru the secret door, and since she wanted to be paid cash you killed her!"

"NO! NO! I never went to her office. I was detained at the lawyer's office on the morning I was working on the final details of the buyout offer. I did not even know she was murdered until the lawyer's assistant came in to tell us she was murdered. By the time I got there you were all there and investigating the crime"

"So you were at the lawyer's office all morning?"

"Yes. He asked me to come in early. We met at the midtown grill for breakfast at 6:00 AM and then went to his office to draw up the final document"

"Mr. Crawford, you knew about the secret door she had installed…"

"What? No. she didn't have it installed. My grandmother had it put in when the office was built almost a hundred years ago. She was a female founder of a major university but for the sake of the times, her husband was thought to be the leader. She came and went through the outside exit so no one knew she was actually the head of the school"

This is one more revelation that catches the team off guard. Taken back a little Beckett returns to the attack with the one piece of evidence she has not told him about yet

"Mr. Crawford, we executed a search warrant on your home this morning and took into evidence one antique typewriter. Do you know the machine I am talking about?"

"Yes. It is one of the many typewriters my grandmother purchased surplus after the war. She bought about forty or fifty. Why?"

"In our investigation into Dr. Sellers' murder, we came across a typewritten note. It was written on school stationary and was typed on a conventional typewriter…not a computer printer"

She can see his mind working

"We did determine that the threatening note was written on the typewriter from your home. What do you have to say now?"

"That typewriter was just delivered to my house the day she was found dead. It has been in storage at the school and they needed the room. I had them bring it to me instead of throwing it away"

"It was at the school until after she was murdered?" Beckett asks

"Yes. It was kept in the spare office beside the reception area"

There is a brief pause then Crawford continues "I didn't type a note. I didn't murder Dr. Sellers but I think I know might have"

* * *

 **I think the next chapter will close this one out.**  
 **Anyone care to guess who the killer is?**


	19. Chapter 19

The team is sitting in the break room looking over the evidence once more

"This is getting harder by the moment" Beckett comments

Castle responds to his wife's remark "We are running out of suspects quickly"

Sexton comes in the room carrying a file folder "Captain, we just got a clue that might help us narrow down the killer"

"What's that?" she asks

"You remember the pen and pencil set from Dr. Seller's desk?"

"The one with her name plate?" Castle asks

"The one that was found on the floor behind her desk?" Beckett wonders

"Yes that one. CSU got a partial finger print, but it was not in the system, but more importantly they got a DNA sample. There was a trace of blood on one edge of the marble base that was not a match to Sellers"

Beckett asks the next obvious question "Do you think the killer might have cut their hand fighting with Sellers?"

"It appears to be a possibility" Sexton answers "The blood sample did not belong to the president so it must be her murderer"

"Is there a match in the system?"

"No exact match. But it narrows down the possibilities to a woman. The DNA strand indicates the blood drop came from a female"

Bryan makes the next statement "That narrows it down to only 4 million suspects in the city"

Beckett looks back to the detective "Actually that is a start. We can now close down our field of suspects to a woman, and as of right now there are less than a dozen women we believe are possibility involved"

"Except you have to leave out the wives of any of the other male professors we know she was popping. They all have alibis" Bryan remarks

Beckett stands up "OK, then let's have CSU check all the databases, both criminal and public that we can access. Maybe we will get a hit on one of them"

The team steps out of the room and moves back to the desk area "OK, Castle and I are going to the morgue and see what Lanie might have for us. Keep me informed if you hear anything on the DNA"

"Got it captain" Sexton responds

As they walk to the elevator Castle is not sure what he needs to say but as the door closes, he turns to his wife "Kate. We don't need anything from Lanie right now. Why are we going to the morgue?"

He thinks he sees a funny smile on his wife's face then she turns toward her husband "I don't need anything from Lanie…" she pulls his face closer to hers "But I definitely need something from you and I don't think the bull pen is the best place to get it"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As Kate and Rick pull out of the motel and get back on the street he is at a total loss for words so he chooses to keep quiet for the time being. In fact, he is not positive he is capable of speaking at this moment

As if someone knew he needed a distraction, Beckett's phone rings

She pulls it out of her pocket and swipes the screen "Beckett…" listening for a moment she gets a smile across her face "REALLY?...you have a match…bring her in and we will be right there"

"What did they get?" Castle asks

"A familial match. A women that works at the school is a family member of our killer"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Castle and Beckett enter the interrogation room and as her usual, Beckett starts in on the woman on the opposite side of the table

"Miss Rowe, I am Captain Beckett. Do you remember me?"

"Yes. You are the one who is investigating the murder of Dr. Sellers" Misty owe responds

"That's right and do you know why you are here?"

"No ma'am. I have no idea"

"I believe you claim to have found the body"

"Yes. I came in and found her on the floor"

"I believe you did know about her affairs with various professors at the school?"

The young woman drops her head and almost whispers "Yes. I knew"

"And you also knew this was a serious breach of professionalism on her part"

"Yes"

"And a black eye on the school?"

The young woman is turning red from the questions and is obviously uncomfortable as she responds meekly "yes"

"Did you know that there was a blood drop found in the office that probably belongs to our killer?"

She looks up to Beckett "No"

Kate opens the file in front of her "we ran the DNA on the blood sample and it came back with a partial match to someone at the school"

Misty does not raise her head

"Do you remember giving a DNA sample as part of admission at the school?"

She shakes her head yes

"What if I told you that the DNA came back with markers indicating someone in your family?"

"I DIDN'T DO IT" With tears in her eyes she almost screams

Calming the room down a little, Castle comments "Misty…we know you didn't do it, but you are the daughter of the murderer"

Tears that were welling up in her eyes are now pouring down her face

Beckett also lowers her voice "We have brought in the woman who killed Dr. Sellers, your mother Tami Crawford, and she is being charged as we speak. We are hoping that you will fill us in on what happened"

Wiping her face and trying to explain "After my father died, Mom married Lawrence Crawford. I mean she really fell in love with him and then joined him in his passion for this school. His great-grandmother founded this university and he was so proud of it"

"Your step father is the Chancellor of the school. Keep going" Castle encourages her

"The family welcomed Dr. Sellers to the school when she was hired. Mom gave her that name plate with pen set as a welcoming gift. Then the problems began. Lawrence…my step dad…tried to talk to her and work it out but Dr. Sellers was not leaving because of her contract"

Castle responds to that "We know that Crawford and the board of trustees had agreed to buy her out of her contract"

"The problem is that there is no money to pay her off and she would not take a payout. Dad was going to have to mortgage our home and mom decided to try and talk Sellers into taking the payoff"

"Do you know what happened that morning?"

"Yeah…Mom went to try once more to convince Sellers to take the money…they got into a fight. Mom grabbed the marble nameplate and said she did not deserve it. Sellers grabbed it from mom. They fought and Sellers fell backwards and hit her head on the desk"

"So you were here?" Castle asks

"No. Later that evening mom told me and dad what happened. Are you going to arrest her?"

"She is already on her way downtown. We knew the DNA belonged to your mother. We just had to figure out who she was. We discovered your addresses were the same. A little records search it all it took"

"Captain Beckett…it was an accident. Mom did not mean to kill Dr. Sellers"

"Misty. That is not for me to decide. It is up to the DA but I am sure all evidence will be taken into account, but you are an accessory after the fact for not disclosing what you knew. You will be charged as such"

"I understand"

* * *

The two 54th precinct detectives are waiting for Castle and Beckett as the come to pick up her gear and leave

"Captain Beckett, it was an honor to meet you and watch you do your magic"

"Thanks guys" She responds "If you are ever around the 12th come on in and all of us can go The Old Haunt for drinks"

"Yes ma'am"

Beckett looks at Castle. "I need to go to the 12th to wrap up some paperwork. I might be a couple of hours"

Castle looks at his watch "That's OK. I have to go the Black Pawn for a short meeting. I will see you at home later"

"Don't forget, your mother has Jimmy and Alexis is on that overnight observation at the hospital. So no diner for them"

"Got it" as he walks out the door to catch a cab

As soon as the elevator door closes Beckett takes out her phone and dials a number. When the call is answered she begins "This is Kate Beckett and I need to see the doctor…no nothing bad but I think I do need to come in…is there any way she can work me in today?" after a short pause "OK great. I can be there in thirty minutes"

She hangs the phone up, drops it into her pocket and walks to the elevator to leave satisfied that they have closed two more cases but maybe opened another totally different type of case

* * *

 **Just enough time to do an epilogue**


	20. Chapter 20

**This will wrap up this story.**

 **Remember what I said about reading the other stories because somethings will not make sense if you don't**

 **This is one of those things**

* * *

Kate enters the loft and finds it mostly empty. She hopes this will help her with what she needs to tell her husband.

Hanging her coat up and moving to the bedroom, she once again sees her husband working on his laptop with ear buds in his ears

"Hey, babe…I'm home" she calls out loudly enough for him to hear

He turns toward her and waves. "I will be finished in about fifteen minutes"

"I will grab a shower and be right out" she tells him

"Good"

She acknowledges his statement and goes into the dressing room. She locks her service weapon away and discards her day's clothes in the hamper for items destined for the cleaners.

Stepping into the shower, she is trying to work out, in her head, how she will address the conversation that is necessarily coming

She completes her shower in record time and wraps a towel around her body to dry off before pulling on a t-shirt and pajama pants

Walking back to the study it appears her husband has finished up the task currently on the computer. He closes the laptop and turns around just a Kate enters the office

"I ordered diner while you were in the shower"

"OK…thanks" she responds but her mind seems to be somewhere else

Concerned by her demeanor "Everything go ok at the doctor's office?" he asks.

"Uh…yeah…fine" she seems more worried than ever because he knew she was going to the doctor "Babe, can we talk?"

"That doesn't sound good" re reacts to her statement

She reaches out to try and pull him up and they walk into the living room

Once on the couch, she pulls her legs up under her and turns to face Castle. She places her hands on his leg and squeezes

"Do you remember last month when I had that cold and sinus infection?"

"Yes, of course"

"And do you remember what the doctor gave me take for it?"

"Yeah…she gave you an antibiotic"

"And she told me to be careful taking an antibiotic while I was still taking birth control?"

"Yeah" Castle responds not seeming to appreciate her fears

"Well…is seems…" her next statement is interrupted by a knock on the door

"Hold that thought. That will be our supper" Castle jumps up and rushes to the door

"When he returns her is holding two sacks from the Chinese Restaurant around the corner

Kate seems to have a questioning look on her face "You ordered Chinese?"

"I thought it was appropriate for tonight"

"It smells delicious…What did you order?"

He opens the sacks and pulls out the boxes and smiles up to his wife "Pecking Duck"

A look of understanding flashes across her face "You know?"

"Of course I know"

"And you are ok with it?"

"Kate. You know I am. I told you before how I felt about this"

"That was before we had Jimmy"

He reaches over and pulls he to his side "And it still applies"

She has a look of sheer happiness on her face. She stands and pulls him up to join her and she begins to drag him to the bedroom.

Pointing at the take out containers "We will save that for later, when we get hungry again"

As the door closes his voice comes through loud and clear "I love You Katherine Beckett"

"I love you Richard Castle

* * *

 **I truly hope I can keep doing this. I actually have a story line in my head away from Castle, in fact away from all TV shows that I plan to work on**  
 **I appreciate all the reviews and PM's I have received**

 **Thank you for reading**


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